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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29684697">Tilt The Hourglass</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lore55/pseuds/Lore55'>Lore55</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Falling Towards Grace [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Canon-Typical Violence, Canonical Child Abuse, Darth Maul Needs a Hug, Darth Maul Redemption, Fix-It, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Gen, I'm seriously fucking up the timeline here guys, Mandalorian Adoption (Star Wars), Minor Angst, No Beta We Die Like Mandalorians, Obi-Wan Kenobi Needs a Hug, Parental Jango Fett, Protective Darth Maul, Qui-Gon Jinn's A+ Parenting, Slow Burn : Found Family edition, Spoilers, That's Not How The Force Works (Star Wars), Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, maul - Freeform, well mostly</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-04-12</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-16 01:28:29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>64,662</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29684697</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lore55/pseuds/Lore55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>'Enough.' Maul thought, sheltered in the arms of his rival as death drew closer. 'Enough. It's over.' </p><p>It isn't. </p><p>Maul gets hurtled into the past where he is determined to hold tight to everything Sidious stole from him, and destroy the sith for good measure. Hope may move mountains, but spite tears apart space and time. A Maul Time Travel fic.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Jango Fett &amp; Darth Maul, Jango Fett &amp; Obi-Wan Kenobi, Kilindi Matako &amp; Darth Maul, Obi-Wan Kenobi &amp; Darth Maul</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Falling Towards Grace [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/2235396</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>307</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>632</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Obi-wan gets himself a Mandalorian</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Shattered Holocrons</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Alternate title for this is 'Lore Smashes her favorite tropes and characters together and everyone else has to deal with it'. </p><p>Inspired by 'The Best Revenge is Living Well' by Chi-Chi-chimaera, and 'All The Sinner's Saints' by OrianDCate.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Maul is no longer a sith. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had not been one in decades, now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had not been a sith since the death of Savage. Perhaps he had never been a true sith at all. His master hadn’t taught him much outside of combat. He could not produce force lightning, and his understanding of the spiritual aspect of their order was limited to what little had been necessary to encourage his hatred of jedi and what he’d needed to know to enhance his abilities as an assassin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d carried that hatred, and the hatred of all the sith that had come before him, their ashes still fresh in his mind some days. With their own agony stacked on top of his own it had been easy to nurse his grudge as long as he had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Few times in his life had Maul been as elated as he had been when he’d learned Kenobi yet lived. An unanswered grudge was like an untreated wound, something to fester and rot inside his chest. The chance to end their decade old dance drove him to Tatooine, where they’d first crossed paths all those years ago. Ezra, his dear(if reluctant) apprentice played his part perfectly, and Maul did nothing to keep him from leaving, save promise to see him again. He intended to keep that promise. The shattered remnants of two holocrons were warm enough in his pocket that he could feel the heat where flesh met metal. He knew; today was a great ending. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t expecting the pale blue light to slice through his hilt. He wasn’t expecting the smell of burnt flesh or the pain in his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He thought he would win. He thought it would be Kenobi’s ending. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The biggest surprise was the arms that wrapped around him, saving him from falling in the sand. Warm, and careful. The shards in his pocket pulsed. A thousand Sith hissed phantom words at him. A thousand Jedi hummed ghostly thoughts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stared up at Kenobi. His hair had gone silver, but his eyes were the same bright blue Maul had known for twenty years. Longer. Twenty? Thirty? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gods, how old had they become? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How old was the person Kenobi protected? For a </span>
  <em>
    <span>jedi </span>
  </em>
  <span>to go so far for one person, when they were forbidden their attachments- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well. Kenobi had never been very good at that part, had he? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were both poor examples of their orders. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was enough to make Maul laugh, a hacking, wet thing that resulted with blood in his mouth and his body screaming with pain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The boy,” Maul croaked. “Is he your ‘chosen one’?” The jedi in the holocron sang louder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi watched him, his blue eyes sad. “He is.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Why sad? He’d finally dealt the final blow to his enemy, to the man who killed his master, to the man who stole his love, and left carnage in his wake. Why would he be sad to have his vengeance? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Jedi</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He will destroy the sith,” Maul could see it in his mind's eye, in flickers of the Force. The Sith in his pocket hissed louder in rage. Maul wanted to laugh in their faces. A Grand Plan, passed from one to the other. A success to end in failure!</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A green lightsaber, so like the one that Kenobi had wielded against him. A dark cloak, ragged breathing, and an explosion that will rock the galaxy to its core. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And at last, Maul’s own master, falling to his death just as Maul had so long ago. Poetic. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He will avenge us.” The both of them, tormented by Sidious, by the sith. Both of them pushed to the brink, until all that was left was the two of them alone in the desert. Maul grasped the shards in his pocket with the hand that didn’t reach for his rival. He squeezed them with all of his strength, the corners biting into his palms until a voice snarled far off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Enough. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It said. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The Sith will not be destroyed! You cannot change what we have done! You will suffer-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Enough. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Said another, without anger. </span>
  <em>
    <span>The balance must be restored. It will tip too far. Too much pain, and a galaxy a sore in the soul. More must be done! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Enough. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maul thought. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Enough. It’s over. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul grasped at Kenobi as the darkness crawled closer. The light of the twin suns dawning crested Kenobi in a halo of light, and left Maul, again, in the shadow.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He let out the last breath of his life and crushed the holocron shard’s to dust.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A green head poked into view. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stared up at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The sky above her head was blue and wide, with puffy pink clouds streaking across it. A familiar face and a familiar sky. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kilindi?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was this his fate? To face those he’d killed in death? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yet, she did not look as she had when he had given her the most merciful death he could manage under the circumstances. She was younger. Her cheeks were fuller, and her head tails were shorter and the stripes were less distinct. Her eyes were wide and worried. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh good,” she smiled at him and sat back on her heels. “I thought you might have had your brain scrambled. Trakor threw you pretty hard.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul blinked dumbly up at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trakor. An instructor of the academy their first six years, before Meltch Krakko had come out of ‘retirement’. He was just as brutal as the mandalorian. He hadn’t thought of either of them for a long time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Over the years Maul had almost forgotten him and the mandalorian, so full was he with hate for others more deserving of his ire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(He would deny it until his dying breath, but Maul tried not to think of Orsis. Of Kilindi and Daleen, and their bodies in his arms and blood on his hands. ) </span>
</p><p>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>(Oh. Wait. He’d had his dying breaths) </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(...He would still deny it) </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that so?” he sat up slowly, his whole body aching. He drew his legs up. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His legs. His actual legs, not the mechanical ones he’d had for years. Maul poked at his thighs. He grasped his knee cap between his forefinger and thumb and wiggled it back and forth. He’d been very flexible as a child. His hands were so small, his fingers were short, and calloused but they missed several scars. His arms were hidden by the long sleeves of an Orsis academy uniform, but they too were too short, and too skinny. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh, Maul?” she asked lightly, her smile dropping into concern. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trakor appeared over her shoulder and pushed her aside briskly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Up, boy. I didn’t hit you that hard.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He blacked out,” Kilindi argued. “He could be concussed!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Trakor reached for him, Maul bared his sharp teeth on instinct. Trakor scowled at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hold still,” he ordered gruffly. Maul clenched his fists, but didn’t lash out when Trakor pulled out a light and flicked it into his eyes. Maul had hated the man. He’d hated this place, and how he’d been forced to make himself lesser to pass his lessons. Maul loathed having to hold back, but he would not lie. The skills had served him well later in life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” he said firmly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Quiet. You’re going to medical.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine,” Maul insisted, scowling at him. He was fine! Just dead. Maybe. Or hallucinating? Had it all been some kind of horrible vision? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, surely not. He had had vision through the force. None of them were like that. Not even the memories of the fallen sith, clawing their way through his skull. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t asking.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trakor grabbed him by the back of his shirt like he was a misbehaving youngling and forcefully dragged Maul towards the door. Maul was in the middle of trying to claw his arm off, unwilling to out himself as a force user just yet, when Kilindi fell into step with them and he scowled and stopped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was… surreal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trakor was brutal, and Meltch Krakko had been even more so. He had been the bane of his existence for years. He had set Maul up to be taken as a slave, for the crime of being Forceful. Maul had killed him, and years later Maul had ruled the very organization that Meltch had belonged to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If anyone had bothered to bury him after Maul left Orsis, Meltch would have rolled in his grave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The thought was enough to make him smile. Kilindi looked even more concerned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul let Trakor drag him to medical and drop him in front of a droid that Maul only vaguely remembered. Most medical droids were the same. Logic minded and professional, without a hint of bedside manner. As if Maul had ever been exposed to such things. They were for weaker creatures than him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He answered each question, with only a few stumbles. He couldn't answer what day it was, or who was the chancellor, and he didn’t recall the fake surname he’d been given for his time training. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The droid declared him concussed, and sent him to rest in his dorm for the time being. Krakko, who actually looked mildly guilty, let Kilindi take him back. Maul was reminded that Mandalorians had a strange value for children. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul followed Kilindi through half forgotten halls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was small. So small. Not the tall young nautolan who had died with that sardonic smile. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was still taller than Maul was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious had lied about Maul’s age when he enrolled him. The headmaster had been willing to look the other way, but they had to say something to other instructors and the students. They’d said he was eleven, three years older than the truth. The year he’d killed her Kilindi had plotted to throw him an eighteenth birthday party. She had been just shy of nineteen.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As far as most people were concerned Maul was just very small for his age, especially for a Zabrak. He’d learned his true age only decades later, from Mother Talzin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They stopped at the barracks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One day, when he was top of his class, Maul would be awarded his own dorm. For now he shared with the others. Only Kilindi had a private room, a perk of being Trezza’s ward. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trezza. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trezza had been one of his master’s few acquaintances to show Maul any hint of care or companionship. He had respect for him even when he was young. Respect that Sidious had never once shown him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had to stop his fists from clenching at his side. He looked up at Kilindi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am okay. You don’t need to watch me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi kept her dark eyes on him, her striped tendrils hanging around her shoulder. He had missed her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do. If you’re concussed you might die.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul flashed her a grin with his teeth. “I’m too stubborn for that.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi still looked worried, but she had learned even this early in their relationship that Maul truly was one of the most stubborn people alive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Reluctantly she left him in the barracks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul laid back on the hard bunk and tried to find some sense in the galaxy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Daleen sat with them at breakfast in the morning, and followed he and Kilindi onto one of the outdoor training balconies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was banned from training until he’d been cleared by the medical droid, but he still planned on at least watching practice. Kilindi was tough and strong and fast, and while Daleen would never be a warrior she was dangerous in her own way. Maul wondered if she really was a lost princess, or something similar. He’d never actually found out before. He just followed Sidious’ orders. No matter how much it cost him he did as he was told. He had belonged to his master truly and wholly now. He was no apprentice. His hopes of being one were misplaced and misguided. He was just a tool for Sidious. A knife in the dark for him to loose on his enemies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d been such a fool. A young, ignorant child. One who had thought that if he only worked hard enough, if was only fast enough, skilled enough, smart enough, he might earn his masters respect. His affection. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was a fool. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul watched Kilindi toss Daleen onto the practice mats. They were just thick enough to keep permanent damage from being done to students. He remembered them well. He’d been thrown into them time and time again, and thrown others onto them in turn. They were well worn with blood, sweat, and tears. Orsis had stood for years. Theirs was not the first class to walk its halls or spill blood upon its floors. Likely, they would be the last. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had killed well over five hundred people that night in the future. The past. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His past and his future were one and the same. The Force had twisted his existence in on itself, curving what had been and what would over and over each other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Maul may not understand how it happened, he stood in the Orsis Academy again. It was not destroyed. His- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His friends were not dead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not yet, but his master would order him to kill them, in six years time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was another problem. Maul’s master. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Over the years Maul had learned many things. He thought he could keep his master from cottoning on too soon to what had occurred, but the fact of the matter remained that eventually Sidious would notice something was different about his apprentice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually he would want answers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eventually Maul would not be able to stop himself from trying to kill the man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had taken everything from Maul. His childhood. His future. His brother- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Savage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Savage still lived. On Dathomir, being groomed as a slave for the Nightsisters. As long as he lived. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul started prowling around the arena where Kilindi was showing Daleen how to properly throw someone over your hit. It was all about leverage. Maul was small like this. He would need to consider that too when he started fighting. His limbs were short and weak. He was small and untested. He would have to change the way he fought. That was fine. He’d never had the raw muscle of Savage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would go to him. In time. When he could manage it without getting the both of them killed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>During his time studying what few sith and even jedi artifacts he could get his hands on, and his time devouring Nightsister lore he had learned different ways to shield his mind. Ways that would arouse far less suspicion that the iron walls he was used to constructing to protect himself. Hopefully those methods would keep Sidious from looking too close at the lurking ocean of animosity inside him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At this age Maul still did not hate the man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He admired him. He wanted only to please him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A fool indeed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“I am prepared to lose what I most value,” Sidious had told him before Hypori and his final test there. “So must you be to become a sith. You must be ready to lose your own life in order to win.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span> Maul felt Exhilarated. He was determined to prove he was the best apprentice in the history of the sith.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d nearly died. He’d nearly gone mad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still could he feel the cold stone of the cave where he dueled his master. He fell against the wall, his body burning with rage and infection, his injured leg a source of constant agony. He struggled to breath. Even the Darkside could not banish his fever. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still could he hear Sidious howling with laughter.</span>
  <em>
    <span> "I saw your weakness long ago. Your doubts in your own abilities. Your doubts in my teaching. Your inability to embrace the dark side. And that is why, over these long years, I have secretly trained another apprentice."</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maul had stared hard at Sidious. He hadn’t wanted to believe him. He hadn’t wanted to trust the taste of betrayal on his tongue or the coursing anger in his veins. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Or, poor Maul. All he ever wanted was a friend. Does it please you to know I have another apprentice? Does it make you feel less alone?" </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Breathless and in pain Maul had said</span>
  </em>
  <span>,</span>
  <em>
    <span> "More than one apprentice... is against rules of the sith."</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"You are right,"</span>
  </em>
  <span> Sidious said with a grin.</span>
  <em>
    <span> "A spark of intelligence, at last. My second apprentice is on the other side of the planet. He conquered all of the assassins sent after him. He only sustained a flesh wound. He is healthy. He is strong. Unlike the pathetic weakling I see before me." </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>It was then that Maul realized his opponents had not really been the assassin droids. He thought of all the punishment he had endured over the past month, and then of the unending punishments of his entire life. He thought of his true opponent, the unseen adversary, chosen by Sidious to become a Sith Lord. Maul felt robbed of his past and future. And then a rage unlike anything he had ever felt before swelled through him. The rage was so overwhelming he thought it might consume him.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span> No.</span>
  </em>
  <span> He had thought, a boy of only seventeen,</span>
  <em>
    <span> I can direct it. My rage will consume my enemy. It will consume my master.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Glaring at Sidious, Maul saw the true face of his enemy. Sidious snickered. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Can you understand? Focus. If there can be only one apprentice, then one of you must die. Who do you think I have chosen to die, Maul?"</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d attacked. He’d lost, been beaten soundly, and even at the end he’d bit the hand that had fed him, sinking his sharp teeth into Sidious’ human skin. He could still taste his blood if he tried. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul wished he had killed him then.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His thoughts carried him to the voices of the holocron he’d destroyed. There was an imprint on his palm now, two pointed scars. One triangular, one square. They were burned into his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>You cannot change what we have done. You will suffer-</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Sith had taken everything from him once already. He would not allow them to do it again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could not take on his master yet, but perhaps he could buy himself time. With the mind guarding techniques he’d learned he could keep Sidious from realizing exactly what had happened, but he would need more than that. He tried to think. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Daleen managed to slip Kilindi over her shoulder at last. Force. Maul hadn’t realized how much he missed them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would not kill them again. Not for Sidious. He would kill no one for that man. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Last time it had happened because Meltch Krakko had sold him out to the Nightsisters, and to slavers from Rakkata. If he could prevent that from happening perhaps he could prevent the massacre. To do that he either needed to get better at hiding his force abilities, or keep Krakko from coming to Orsis in the first place. That would irritate his master as well, who had wanted Krakko to teach Maul all along. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul paused his steps. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He liked that option more, but it would be more difficult to pull off. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could he keep Krakko from coming back to the Academy? If Maul recalled he’d left to join the Mandalore civil war. Death Watch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After he’d taken over Mandalore Maul had looked into its past. The Mandalorians were powerful warriors, who had gone toe to toe with the Jedi order in the past. His own Mandalorians had even risked themselves to rescue him when Sidious had taken him away. They hadn’t needed to. He didn’t expect them to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Could he really betray them? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looked down at his small hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The men and women who had been under his command were all his age or younger. The only ones older were Vizla, who he’d killed, and a handful of others who had also caused him problems. He knew that Mandalorians valued children. They would not harm the people who had made up Maul’s Death Watch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With that small comfort in mind he began to spin his plan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kilindi,” he called, interrupting the girls spar. It was a ‘free day’, a day where trainees were free to pursue their own specialities, or do supplemental work for classes they had trouble with. The Nautolan looked over at him, her dark eyes bright. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to look up some current events.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I’ll come with,” Daleen volunteered eagerly. She was sweaty and bruised. Her dark hair stuck to her head. Maul wondered how she could stand the feeling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Maul asked with a frown. He knew they had been friends, once, but they had only known each other for a little while here.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, I know more about what’s going on in the galaxy than either of you two,” she said reasonably. “And I know how to sort through information better.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul wanted to argue with that, but at this age he was more of a warrior than anything else. If he suddenly knew all about slicing and reading under the lines, and researching things he wasn’t supposed to know it would be more than a little suspicious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are we looking for?” Kilindi asked. The three of them fell in step together and walked towards the computer labs. It felt natural. It felt right. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was enough to make Maul sick with grief and anger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He pushed those feelings down for now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mandalore.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mandalore?” Daleen cocked her head. Her dark hair fell across her cheek. “Why?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why not?” Maul retorted. She made a face at him, and he loosened, just a little bit. “There’s conflict there. I want to know what’s happening. Mandalorians are good fighters.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We used to have a mandalorian instructor,” Kilindi said helpfully. “He left to fight in the civil war a few months before you came.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That would help him set up a timeline. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who is the Mand’alor?” Maul asked, looking from one girl to the other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Depends on who you ask,” Daleen said unhelpfully. “There’s two factions. The True Mandalorians, and the Death Watch. Oh, and I guess there’s New Mandalorians too, but they aren’t doing much yet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Pacifists,” Maul said, wrinkling his nose. He had respect for the mandalorians, but not for that sect. They had gutted their own culture in the worst possible way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They entered the lab and took the far terminals in the back. Maul let Daleen take the main chair while he sat to her left. He checked the date, for all the good it would do him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Most of what he knew of the Mandalorian Civil War came from the Death Watch, and his people there. Most of them would be children now, and were only repeating their parents exploits, or what parts they’d had as young teenagers. Rook Kast in particular liked to tell him about the history of her people on long travels to their allies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She would be an infant by this point. Maul wondered if they would see eachother again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Daleen flicked through articles, which only so helpful, but they gave him a timeline at least. Maul tapped his fingers along his thigh. His thigh that he could feel because it was </span>
  <em>
    <span>real</span>
  </em>
  <span>, and he still wasn’t used to that. It was overwhelming sometimes. He’d gotten only vague sensation through his prosthetics, and though he had increased it through the force it wasn’t the same. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t hurt yourself,” Kilindi teased, poking his cheek. “You’re thinking too hard.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul scowled at her, but didn’t swat the touch away like he instinctively wanted to. He knew she meant no harm to him. Even if he didn’t, the Force told him as much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you thinking of?” Daleen asked, watching him out of the corner of her eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul considered his answer. How could explain what he was going to do, or why he was going to do it to the girls? He couldn’t tell them the truth. That would be insane. He halfway thought he was insane but- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kriff it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s something I need to do. Someone I need to contact, but I needed to make sure I wasn’t too late.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well that’s vague and unhelpful.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul shot Kilindi a baleful look. She smiled back at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t say we wouldn’t help you. I just wanna know what we’re doing.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to help me. And you have no reason to,” he added pointedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi shrugged. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I want to. Daleen?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Same,” she nodded quickly. “And if you’re really gonna be weird about it you can pay us back later. Think of it as owing us a favor.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From anyone else Maul probably would have denied it on principle. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>From the two of them, he agreed with only a bit of hesitation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. First Contact</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I have no beta, I'm not looking for one either, so please excuse any errors. It's been spell checked but that's about it, and google docs can only do so much when I have dismiss half of it because it doesn't recognize made up languages.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“There’s a message coming in.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango looked over at Myles, who held a holo projector in hand. The ship floated through space near Concord Dawn. He had been meaning to go back and visit his home world, but he’d also been looking at new clients. They weren’t hard pressed for money just yet, but they’d had to do major ship repairs after the last job had gone south, and he needed to pay for that amongst all the other supplies. </p><p> </p><p>He’d been inspecting a few different offers, weighing risk and cost and reward together. </p><p> </p><p>“Who is it?” he asked, tilting his helmet towards his companion. Myles was his second in command, Jango could tell he was acting strangely. </p><p> </p><p>“I have no idea,” Myles said frankly. “The message was sent in Mando’a, and it’s on one of the <em> Cabur </em> channels.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango sat up straight. </p><p> </p><p>The <em> cabur </em>channels were only used by mandalorians, and only ones with the most dire of warnings. They had been used during the great wars in history, but slowly fell out of practice as tech advanced. At this point most mandalorians didn’t even know that they existed, nevermind the rest of the galaxy. </p><p> </p><p>Jango set aside his datapads and made room for the projector in Myles’ hand. </p><p> </p><p>Myles set it on the table and started to play the message. </p><p> </p><p>No face popped up. Instead there was a stylized pattern of jagged lines, and a crown of thorns that circled them. The pattern wasn’t familiar to Jango, nor were the thorns, but he made a mental note to double check that there were no clans with the sygnette. </p><p> </p><p>A warbled voice came through in harsh mando’a. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> Aran gar adate teh </em> Galidraan <em> .  Val haaranovor aruetiise.  Te Kyr'tsad. Ori’haat, Mand’alor.*”  </em></p><p> </p><p>Jango’s sucked in sharply. </p><p> </p><p>Myles watched him while Jango quickly grabbed one of the datapads that he’d been looking at earlier. This one wasn’t a request, but a report for another one. Galidraan was in the opening stages of a potential civil war. Thus far no one had come to him for assistance on either side. </p><p> </p><p>He made a note to find everything he could on the Governor. </p><p> </p><p>“What do you think, Mand’alor?” Myles asked, coming up to his shoulder. Jango shook his head. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not sure yet. I don’t know a lot about Galidraan. And I don’t recognize the sigil. Do you?” </p><p> </p><p>“No,” Myles frowned. “But I can make inquiries.”</p><p> </p><p>“Did they give a name?” Jango circled the holo. The message started to play again. Whoever had sent it had used a voice modifier, and the mando’a was accented like the mouth speaking it wasn’t used to shaping the words. Yet the structure was right. The channel was private. </p><p> </p><p>Jango wished, not for the first time, that his <em> buir </em>was still here. Jaster would have known all the signettes and all the clans that had ever been. He would be able to place the accent. Perhaps they were a foundling, and that was where it came from. </p><p> </p><p>“Not a real one.”</p><p> </p><p>Jango looked to him in inquiry. </p><p> </p><p>“They called themselves ‘Bridger Tano’.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango looked back at the holo. It was conceivable a name. Just a very odd one. “Isn’t ‘Tano’ a togruta name?” </p><p> </p><p>Myles just shrugged. </p><p> </p><p>The holo started repeating itself again, until Jango finally turned it off. He was going to have to look into this, all of it. Who had sent the message? Was it accurate? </p><p> </p><p>Was Vizla on Galidraan? </p><p> </p><p>Jango turned back to his work. He needed to get organized. Before he could sink too much into the new mystery they still needed credits. </p><p> </p><p>He made a list in his head. </p><p> </p><p>1) Find a new job. </p><p> </p><p>2) Feed and clothe his people. </p><p> </p><p>3) Look into Galidraan and see about hunting Vizla down like a dog and taking his head. </p><p> </p><p>Perfect plan. </p><p> </p><p>He picked up a holo for a commission from Savareen. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~</p><p> </p><p>“So who’s Bridger Tano?” Kilindi asked from where she was sat beside Maul. Their table was small, and cramped into a storage room. Wires poured from a hole in the wall like entrails that hooked into the fist sized comm unit that Daleen had found somewhere. It was her idea to replace the initially recorded ‘Hood Maul’ as Kilindi called it with a stylized rendition of his face tattoos and horns. It was a little too distinct for his taste, but even his master might not recognize it. It had the same jagged lines that marked his face, but simplified, and circled with his short horns. </p><p> </p><p>“There is not Bridger Tano,” he said, rolling his yellow eyes at her. </p><p> </p><p>“I know that,” Kilindi insisted, “But you came up with the name pretty fast. Have you used it before?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul considered her. Once, she had taken him swimming with her in the sea near the academy. The day was one of his few pleasant memories, even though it was also haunted by his master’s attempt to ‘train him’ on Mygeeto. Maul had never liked the water after, but the sea of Orsis was tolerable with Kilindi. She was kind to him, and respectful as well. She understood there was more darkness inside him than even his outer appearance could betray. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> "So now you know about me. What about you? Where are you from?"  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Maul looked down and watched the water ripple at his fingertips. From this angle the marks on his chest almost looked heart shaped.  "I can't say."  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Kilindi tilted her head curiously. Water dripped down her cheeks. "Because you can't say, or because you won't?"  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> "Both," Maul said, then shook his head. "We can't talk about... me." It was against the rules and if he broke the rules the punishment would be severe. Kilindi couldn’t know about him or his master. Just who he was supposed to be. A normal zabrak who was going to guard a blind business man. Not a sith-in-training. Not a force sensitive assassin. Not Maul. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Kilindi shrugged, the movement making her head tresses jiggle. "Nevermind. I won't ever ask personal questions again.” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>She hadn’t, either. She asked his opinion. She asked his thoughts and preferences and interests. She never asked about his past. She was good like that. Maul thought she might have passed word of his secrecy to Daleen, for she didn’t ask either. </p><p> </p><p>“No,” he said finally. “But ‘Bridger’ was my… not my brother. But I wanted him to be.” He had offered his apprentice a brotherhood, and forced his brother into apprenticeship. Maul had made so many mistakes with people he wanted close to him, so many times. He had only known apprentices and masters, he didn’t know how to be anything else. Hindsight was twenty twenty, and Maul’s mind felt clearer here. Even though the Force was loud with the voices of jedi not yet dead and force sensitive children who hadn’t been hunted down, even though it was disgustingly bright with the light side, he felt like he was lighter. And it wasn’t because his legs were no longer powerful metal, or that he was two feet shorter. </p><p> </p><p>He would have to work on how he interacted with people. </p><p> </p><p>“And Tano?” Daleen asked, looking somewhere between curious and worried for him. </p><p> </p><p>“A powerful fighter I used to know. She was clever, and relentless.” Maul had respected the Lady Tano, for all he had loathed her lineage. She should have listened to him on Mandalore, and perhaps she would not have perished on Malachor. </p><p> </p><p>She wouldn’t even be born yet, he realized with a start. She was barely grown when they first clashed, and he was well into his thirties. </p><p> </p><p>“...You don’t talk a lot about your life outside Orsis,” Kilindi pressed gently. Maul could feel her worry. Did she think it was his concussion talking? </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not allowed to,” he confessed, “My Master would be furious if he knew.” </p><p> </p><p>The words felt like acid on his tongue. ‘My Master’. Something he had once taken such pride in. He was the apprentice to the most powerful creature in the galaxy. He had given him everything, and he had been discarded like garbage. </p><p> </p><p>“Then why are you?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul didn’t know how to answer that. “Isn’t that- isn’t that what friends are supposed to do?” </p><p> </p><p>Kilindi had once broken Trezza’s rules to help Maul with a task. Daleen was breaking several rules to help him now, with no real questions asked. </p><p> </p><p>Both girls stared at him, before a grin bloomed across Kilindi’s face. Daleen covered her mouth with her hand, but her eyes were dancing even if he couldn't see her mouth. </p><p> </p><p>Maul, his skin feeling warmer, looked towards the door. “Shut up.” </p><p> </p><p>“I didn’t say a word.” </p><p> </p><p>“You don’t need to. Your eyebrows say everything.” </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t even have those!” </p><p> </p><p>Daleen struggled not to laugh at them. Finally, she gave up and started giggling helplessly. Maul shoved her, and she kicked his knee in return. </p><p> </p><p>It felt good. Sitting in the dark with his friends, laughing and breaking rules. Most of the rest of the academy was sleeping. There were few who would catch them, and Kilindi knew Trezza’s habits enough they didn’t worry about him. </p><p> </p><p>His friends. </p><p> </p><p>Maul looked at the two girls. </p><p> </p><p>He would not allow Sidious to take them from him again. He refused. </p><p> </p><p>Maul looked back at the holo projector. There was another message he was very tempted to send, but he didn’t know how well it would be received. And, also, he hated the potential recipients. </p><p> </p><p>The hatred he harbored for his master overshadowed every other grudge he had ever had.</p><p> </p><p>Yet, now it warred with new feelings that Maul was struggling to process. </p><p> </p><p>“I have one more to send,” he said at last, and gave Daleen the code for the next message. </p><p> </p><p>If she recognized the numbers she didn’t show any sign. It wasn’t as secret as the one he used for the mandalorians, but it was still more than a little outdated. Another relic he’d discovered on Malachor, on the body of one of the dead. It was probably about two thousand years old, but it should still work. </p><p> </p><p>Daleen set up the holo and looked to him for confirmation. </p><p> </p><p>Maul cleared his throat and nodded to her. She hit the button and he spoke briefly. </p><p> </p><p>“You have surrounded yourself in darkness, and now the noose begins to tighten. Shadows encroach. Search underneath the underneath.” </p><p> </p><p>Kilindi waited until Daleen checked the transmission and sent it out before she looked at Maul. </p><p> </p><p>“What in the galaxy was <em> that </em>? Don’t tell me that Maul is dramatic!” </p><p> </p><p>Daleen shot Kilindi a look. “His first day here he picked a fight with the biggest person and almost bit his nose off. Of course he’s dramatic.” </p><p> </p><p>“I am not!” Maul argued. </p><p> </p><p>“You are so! You’re so dramatic your eyes <em> glow in the dark. </em>” </p><p> </p><p>Maul huffed at Kilindi and helped Daleen pack all the wires back into their proper place. Orsis was equipped with encrypted lines already, and it hadn’t taken Daleen much work to monkey off of them and hide the origin of their messages. It was best Maul could do without giving himself away, but still possibly getting what he wanted. </p><p> </p><p>Namely, irritating his master. </p><p> </p><p>He had no doubt that Sidious would take his anger out on Maul when he saw him next, but he had endured pain beyond measure. He had <em> died </em>. He would survive Sidious as well. </p><p> </p><p>The trio peered out into the dark hallway before they scampered out of the room and raced for the barracks. Kilindi left them at the door to go to her own room, her eyes sparkling. </p><p> </p><p>“See you tomorrow,” she whispered, patting each of them on the shoulder before she ran off. </p><p> </p><p>Daleen bunked across the hall from Maul, and she too left him a moment later. </p><p> </p><p>Maul slipped silently into his own room. He was steadily getting used to his new, smaller body. It was easier to go unnoticed when he was this small, even if he wasn’t as strong as he would one day become. </p><p> </p><p>In the next few days he would start training again, even harder than before. He had to get as strong as he could as fast as he could. He was no longer training to impress his master. He was training to kill him. To destroy his life’s work and rip him from his pedestal. He would throw him into the dirt and grind him under his heel. He would take everything his once-master had ever had and burn it to the ground. </p><p> </p><p>And then he would get up, climb out of the dust, and join Kilindi and Daleen. And perhaps Eldra Kaith. For a jedi, she had been a good sort. </p><p> </p><p>She had fought with honor. She was cunning, fast, and strong. She was worthy of their battle. Her death left him feeling empty and hollow. </p><p> </p><p>It was not the grief that came with Kilindi and Daleen, but a different sort of sorrow. </p><p> </p><p>Maul climbed up onto his bunk. He took the top, so he could always have the high ground, and so he never had to worry about anyone or anything falling down on him from above. He didn’t trust his classmates. With good reason. They were future bounty hunters and assassins, the dregs of the underworld that Maul had spent most of his life surrounded by. He trusted few. In the future he would trust their interests. Money, power, and bits of shine and spice. Now they were teenagers and none of them were above trying to discreetly take his mattress out to the sea and set him to float. </p><p> </p><p>Maul was typically above the childish pranks, since his little ‘test’ when he’d begun training here and nearly killed the massive being he’d taken on, but there was a pair of Rodian’s who liked to cause him trouble. </p><p> </p><p>Trezza liked them to handle things themselves, and as long as they were sneaky enough he would let them get away with it. </p><p> </p><p>Maul had once shattered a boys hand for calling Kilindi his slave, and Trezza had never brought the incident up again. </p><p> </p><p>The mattress was firm underneath him when he rolled on his side to face the door. If he stretched out his senses he could feel Daleen across the hall. She was an easy person to be around. She felt like summer wind against his skin, warm and light but capable of becoming something so much more. There was storm buried deep in her heart that he had been too young and too focused on himself to notice last time. </p><p> </p><p>Further, near the corridor that would lead to the building where the teachers slept, Kilindi was still settling. If Daleen was a summer wind Kilindi was a summer sea. She was warm, powerful and strong, capable of anything. She could be great. She would be great if Maul had anything to say about it. </p><p> </p><p>He did. </p><p> </p><p>This time he did. </p><p>Maul closed his yellow eyes and pulled his blanket up over his shoulders. Tomorrow he could finally start training again. Tomorrow he would begin his long mission to protect what was his. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ </p><p> </p><p>If he was being perfectly honest Maul didn’t particularly like the beach. </p><p> </p><p>The water would always remind him of Mygeeto, no matter how many years had passed (or that he hadn’t even completed that training yet here.) and the sand clung to his skin and managed to get everywhere that he never wanted it. He may not have been prone to burning in the sunlight but it still felt sweltering on his bare chest. He was a creature made for darkness, not sunlight. </p><p> </p><p>Kilindi wanted to come, though, and Daleen agreed with her. </p><p> </p><p>Maul had never skipped class before. Not one single lesson, not in either life. </p><p> </p><p>When Kilindi suggested it, Maul followed her without argument. </p><p> </p><p>Dallen stretched out on a towel a few metes away from him. She’d pinned her dark hair high on her head and seemed to be intent on baking herself. She was frighteningly exposed, but the knife next to her right hand was a small comfort for him. </p><p> </p><p>Kilindi was already in the water, her body cutting through the waved with the utmost ease. She was made for the ocean. He was made for the shadows. Daleen was made for talking the skin off a tooka. </p><p> </p><p>She was so persuasive sometimes Maul would have thought she was using the Force if he didn’t know better. </p><p> </p><p>That somehow seemed even more dangerous. </p><p> </p><p>There were some beings that the Force didn’t work on. Toydarians and Hutts being prime among them. Daleen would be good for times when force, either kind, was ill advised. There were times when a person needed to be more subtle than Maul really was. </p><p> </p><p>Oh he could sneak around. He could make himself into a shadow. He could infiltrate any prison he wanted, and frighten whatever underworld scum he wanted to. But those tactics got people talking. </p><p> </p><p>Last time he’d learned the hard way that he was going to have to be more careful. In luring out Kenobi he’d also lured in his master. </p><p> </p><p>Kenobi. </p><p> </p><p>Maul looked away from the girls towards the sky, as blue as his rivals eyes. He still couldn’t understand why he had looked so sad when he’d held his dying body. </p><p> </p><p>If Maul remembered right, Kenobi was a few years older than him. Had he even gotten that silly little braid of his yet? Or was still sheltered and safe inside the jedi temple? Qui Gon Jinn would be younger now too. Younger and stronger. </p><p> </p><p>Maul itched to fight him again. </p><p> </p><p>When he was stronger, when he wasn’t as slow with age and battleworn as he had been when they’d dueled on Naboo. After decades Maul himself understood what age did to a person, although he’d never had bad knees or hips. He’d just replaced them whenever they wore down. His shoulder and wrists were another matter. </p><p> </p><p>If there was one thing he enjoyed about this entire endeavor it was that this young body lacked a few decades worth of residual pain. He’d always drawn energy from the Force and from his own feelings, but there was something different about having a body that wasn’t constantly on the edge of exhaustion, tormented after years of malnutrition, torture, battle, and so many near death expiriences he had long ago lost track. His tattoos had hid it, but he was more scar tissue than skin by the end of his life. </p><p> </p><p>Maul kicked at the sand under his feet. He’d never known he would miss the feeling of it squishing between his toes. </p><p> </p><p>He felt Daleen come closer to him, so he wasn’t surprised when her head popped into view. She was at least getting quieter on her feet. </p><p> </p><p>“Whatcha thinkin of?” she asked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. </p><p> </p><p>Maul kept his face perfectly smooth. “Nunya.” </p><p> </p><p>“Nunya?” Daleen repeated, her brows furrowed. </p><p> </p><p>“Nunya business.” </p><p> </p><p>She stared at him. He stared back. </p><p> </p><p>“I… hate you.” </p><p> </p><p>“No, you don’t,” he said with certainty. </p><p> </p><p>She pouted. “I wish I did.” </p><p> </p><p>Kilindi finally climbed out of the water and shook her head tresses out. The stripes glittered with water droplets. </p><p> </p><p>“What are you guys doing?” she asked, swinging an arm around Daleen’s shoulders. </p><p> </p><p>Daleen shot Maul a look before she said, “Nunya.” </p><p> </p><p>Kilindi punched her in the side. “Shut it.” </p><p> </p><p>Daleen shoved her harmlessly and stuck out her tongue. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re both such children.” </p><p> </p><p>“...I think you’re younger than the both of us.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul narrowed his eyes at Kilindi. “You can’t prove that.” </p><p> </p><p>Her grin turned mischievous and Maul nearly took a wary step back. He knew from experience that nothing good came from Kilindi looking like that.  </p><p> </p><p>He kept his ground. </p><p> </p><p>“What are you thinking?” </p><p> </p><p>“I was thinking we should have a contest,” she said innocently. </p><p> </p><p>“What kind?” Daleen pulled out from under her arm so the three of them formed a triangle. </p><p> </p><p>“Well. Next weekend Trezza is having the mid-term examinations, right?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul had completely forgotten about those. Most students in Orsis would be cramming in the week to come, staying up late training or studying or both. The tests were grueling, and taken individually and in private. Each test was different, and pushed students to their limits. How well they did determined how high they scored, with a system that Maul had never totally understood. However, he and Kilindi had always placed at the top in each field. Survival, combat, espionage, and, for older students, there was the optional seduction. </p><p> </p><p>Maul had skipped out on that one.  </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah,” Daleen finally said, frowning. </p><p> </p><p>“Well, we should have a contest. Whoever does the best overall wins.” </p><p> </p><p>“That’s so not fair!” Daleen argued. “You two will beat me.” </p><p> </p><p>“Not if you do better,” Maul said dryly. Daleen scowled at him. “Besides, she said overall. What does the winner get?” </p><p> </p><p>Kilindi considered that, tilting her head. “Mmmm. Bragging rights?” </p><p> </p><p>Good enough for him. Reluctantly, Daleen agreed as well. </p><p> </p><p>Together, the three of them made their way back to the academy, where Trezza was waiting with his arms crossed over his chest. </p><p> </p><p>“Run,” he ordered, pointing to the track that wound its way around the facilities. </p><p> </p><p>They took their punishment without complaint, a new tradition started. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~  </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Mando'a : </p><p>Cabur : Guardian or protector</p><p>Aran gar adate teh Galidraan.  Val haaranovor aruetiise.  Te Kyr'tsad. Ori’haat, Mand’alor. : Guard your people from Galidraan. They hide traitors. The Death Watch. I swear, Mand’alor.</p><p>I'm just making shit up as I go along. Like the cabur channels, I decided mandalorian's should have secret communication channels because why not!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Sinister</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I fell like I should warn y'all that there's some not-very-descriptive mental assault here. It's Sidious after all. And that guy is just. So bad.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Maul was at Orsis for six months when the inevitable finally occurred. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dark shadow that haunted his nightmares, the cold hands left so many scars on his skin. It was his childhood ruined, his future stolen. His brother dead in his arms and every pain he’d ever endured. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious had come to Orsis. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul ended up with his back on the ground, looking up at Daleen of all people. He wasn’t sure which of them was more surprised that she’d actually flipped him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could only barely focus on her and Kilindi offering him a hand up. He could sense his master growing closer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was the feeling of old wound preparing to open, a sickness creeping back into his lungs. The clarity that he’d felt when he returned dimmed with it, leaving shadows at the corners of his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul swallowed thickly and stood again, taking his position in the ring opposite of Daleen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked uncertain, but when he nodded at her she threw a punch and ducked the kick he aimed at her head in return. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t go easy on her. He was not a kind person, and he would not do her the disservice of mercy. If it came to a real fight no one else would hold out on her. So he wouldn’t either, for her own survival if nothing else. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>That said, he did not break her arm when he caught her third punch, only twisted it enough for her wince before he let her go. He was not a fan of self control, and he had always chafed at the shackles of patience and secrecy that sith were forced to be subservient to, but the years had made him good at it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He knew how to hide. He’d survived for eighteen (nineteen? Twenty?) years after the Empire rose and he was forced to go underground. He had gotten good at hiding and slipping away, and killing anyone who got too close to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘The Shadow’ indeed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could not hide from Sidious here. Here he had to bow his head and scrape and suffer when the man finally deigned him worthy of his tutelage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It’s a near thing to keep his lip from curling and his sharp teeth baring at Daleen, who’s done nothing to earn his wrath besides tease him goodnaturedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He bows out of the training as soon as Trezza appears on a balcony, with Sidious at his side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Master. </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maul forced himself to think. In case his thoughts are too loud. In case they’re too quiet and Sidious goes listening closer. </span>
  <em>
    <span>My master is here. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He tasted bile and swallowed it down as he came to a stop in front of the pair. He could remember easily how deeply he was expected to bow when Sidious came for him, and at what angle. It would not save him a beating, and he was hurt for his successes as much as his failure’s, but he would not go knocking for punishment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Force hummed around him, shadows flickering further in his vision. Sidious always loomed so high above him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Full grown Maul would be taller than him. That didn’t change the fact that Sidious’ shadow always  fell on him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He kept his hand from clenching and his face carefully blank.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Master,” he said respectfully, and offered no other pleasantries. He was not raised to offer small talk. ‘How was your flight?’ ‘Did you enjoy the view?’ ‘I hope you’re well.’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My boy,” his master’s voice lacked the sickly sweet sound it took on when he was a senator. Here he was merely a wealthy merchant, who was putting a hefty investment in his future body guard. “I trust your studies have been going well.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul’s gaze darted momentarily to Trezza. He had punishment them for their truancy, and praised them for taking first in class, one each. He in combat, Kilindi in survival, and Daleen in espionage. Had he told Sidious of their wandering? Even if he hadn’t, the man probably already knew. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anxiety spiked, and he twirled the incident and the compitition around in his mind, letting it fall into a mist over the darkest secrets. Those stayed in a little ball, sucked into a iron sphere at the center of his being. So deep in the shadows they’d never be found. So far from the surface Maul started to forget them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He held them there while he nodded, slowly. “They have, master.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good, good. Come along. I have need of you this weekend.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious motioned for him to come forward. Maul obeyed without hesitation. He could not see his Master’s eyes, not through the high tech goggles he wore as a blind mind. Sidious said he could see shapes and colors and little else. He moved his long stick back and forth before him, letting it clack along obstacles in their path and avoiding him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious always had been an excellent actor. Maul, still a child, had much yet to learn from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pair of them walked the long halls of the facility in silence until they came out on a landing pad where Sidious’ small ship was sitting. The two boarded. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul cast a glance around him and was startled to see the remnants of the spider legged droid that had raised him sitting in the corner. It wasn’t moving. It was still destroyed, just as it had been when he’d last seen it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul knew better than to ask, and Sidious offered him no information. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They took off. A droid piloted the ship, one Maul recognized as well. It had served Sidious as long as Maul had known him. Sidious told him once, ten years in the future, that the droid had belonged to his own master before him. Maul had never seen the sith master in person. For much of his life he hadn’t even known he existed. The rule of two was supposed to be absolute. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The existence of Plageius should have cemented inside Maul that Sidious didn’t really see him as an apprentice, but a placeholder. He had a new one as soon as Maul fell into that foul shaft, and as soon as he could he replaced that one, too, with a more powerful apprentice.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had tried to warn Dooku. Had tried to recruit him and- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His mind swirled, tamping the thoughts under a rug and replacing them with musings far safer. His practice in the yard this morning.  A misstep he’d made that had cost him a clean fight. Mistakes he’d made in a slicing test earlier that week that he needed to amend. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Would you like to know where we are going?” Sidious asked. He took his vision goggles off and set them on a shelf nearby. The cane went with them. His elaborate senate robes were handing beside it. Two disguises, and a dark lord stood before Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul chewed on his words before he voiced them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will go where you require, master.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that all?” Sidious looked at him, his brows raised. One day they would be silver, and his rust colored hair would grey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Any answer would have been wrong, so Maul had answered wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It would be good to know, so I might prepare. But regardless I will succeed at any tast you would have of me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You </span>
  <em>
    <span>assume </span>
  </em>
  <span>it is a task for you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul flinched when Sidious raised his hand, but didn’t dare try to block that harsh lightning when it struck. Only the smallest hiss of a cry came from his mouth when he dropped to the ground convulsing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pain lanced through his body and whited out his mind momentarily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looked up at him from the floor, trying to catch his breath. Anger and pain coursed through him in time with the frantic beating in his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I ap-pologize,” he bit out. Blood filled his mouth. He’d bit his lip at some point. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I should know to keep from biting my own tongue by now. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious didn’t bother to respond to that. He motioned for Maul to rise, which he did with a small struggle. His hands were shaking minutely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We go now to Kalakar Six. There is a group of darksiders there. The Prophets of the Darkside. Kill no one unless ordered. While I discuss important matters with their High Priestess you will train in the lands outside their settlement. A pair of assassin droids will hunt you through the terrain.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul bowed shakily. He grit his sharp teeth together. Was he just a dog on a leash to his master? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A foolish question. Of course he was. An attack dog to be set upon his enemies, with his sharp teeth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Had he ever been anything more to the man? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, master,” Maul said simply. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious went to the pilots chair, and left Maul to try to remember where he would be expected to sit. Had it really been so long since he’d seen his master? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of it had, it had been- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sat on the bunk in the back of the small compartment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This wasn’t one of Sidious’ luxury ships, nor was it meant for battle, although Maul could still see where weapons had been added and shields upgraded. It wasn’t a bad ship. It would take them safely from one place to the other, and should they need neither of the pair inside was helpless. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they landed on Kalakar Six there was a small contingency of locals waiting for them. Humans, most of them, led by a dwarf. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stayed behind his master, not hiding but certainly trying to avoid bringing attention to himself. He kept his dark hood pulled up over his head, but that didn’t stop the eyes of the other darksiders from landing upon him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stayed in his masters shadow until Sidious dismissed him to run off into the lava fields, with two assassin droids on his tail. They were programmed not to kill him, but to maim him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d had enough time in his body that he wasn’t tripping over his own limbs. Shorter and weaker than he was used to, and legs that could break and not be pieced back together easily.   </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With a frown set firmly on his face Maul made his way into the smoldering heat, the dark side swirling around him like a familiar cloak he’d worn all his life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Things stayed that way for well over a year. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every few months Sidious would come for him, and take Maul off world for some horrible, grueling training. Maul would lock up his memories as hard as he could and hide it under more recent feelings and emotions the way he’d learned on Malachor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had to keep Sidious from learning what he knew. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It meant that every time the man was to visit Maul was a bundle of nerves that nothing could unwind, and when he returned he was bitter, full of spite, covered in injuries and more relieved than he could ever properly voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somewhere in the second year since his return, his third year at the academy, he had stopped sleeping in the barracks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t a conscious decision, it wasn't even </span>
  <em>
    <span>his </span>
  </em>
  <span>decision. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He came back from a venture with his master. A return to Malachor had put him to the biggest test yet. He’d had to suffer, and relive the death of every sith that come before him. He had lived the battle through the eyes of all that had perished there, their ashes burning in his nose, mouth, and lungs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their anger filled him and twisted into a familiar hate that skittered through his skin before it sang in his veins. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious had offered him a single word of praise, and beat him soundly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By the time they landed again on Orsis everything hurt. He knew his ribs were broken, and he was bruised everywhere at once. One of his eyes was swollen nearly shut. He’d been given no bacta. The pain would be good for him, Sidious claimed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He walked stiffly from the ship to the doors of the academy, and was met in the hallway by Kilindi and Daleen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi had taken one look at him and frowned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I killed my masters,” she said quietly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul grimaced. “Don’t.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She didn’t argue. “The boys, those Rodian friends of yours? They were planning on causing trouble tonight. Come stay with me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t need your protection,” he snapped. His temper was already frayed. He’d spent the entire time shoving down everything he was, wallowing in foreign anger and choking on pain. Now that the hiding was done he felt cracked and raw and other peoples feelings were twisting against him. Anger in the training hall, fear in the computer labs, lust from one of the higher dorms and some of the teachers were drinking. The girls worry brushed against him, soft fingers against open wounds.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know you don’t </span>
  <em>
    <span>need </span>
  </em>
  <span>it,” Kilindi frowned at him. “But I don’t like to see you hurt, Maul. You’re my friend.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our friend,” Daleen cut in. She came to Maul’s side and lay a very careful hand on his shoulder. His lip curled in a snarl. He wasn’t weak. He didn’t need her to treat him like he was glass. He was durasteel and fire and- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It will make us feel better if you stay with us,” Daleen cut him from his thoughts. She squeezed his shoulder. “Humor a girl, won’t you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Through the rawness their warmth shone through. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul nearly choked. He’d never felt- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Okay.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His voice sounded hoarse. Like he’d been screaming. He probably had been. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The girls made their way to Kilindi’s room, in the far hallway. Maul let them lead him there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The halls felt longer that night, and darker too. It was not in a way that comforted him, though he was a creature born of shadow and hate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi’s calloused hands helped him pull off his tunic while Daleen fetched a bacta pack. Maul didn’t fight either of them. He let the pair smear the cold, sickly sweet smelling goo across his chest and back. Even though it was hard to see where he’d been injured through the intricate patterns on his skin, the girls found where it hurt without being told. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi had a good suite here. She was Trezza’s ward, of course. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her bed was wide and fluffy, and a desk near it held her personal things. Holo’s, data pads, and even pieces of flimsy she liked to fold into complex animals and intriguing shapes. She had a talent for the arts. There was a couch against another wall too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In one corner she had a big soaking tub under a faucet, instead of the common showers that the rest of them used. Her wardrobe was open, and her uniforms were crammed, crumpled, into the bottom of it instead of hung up neatly. A pair of night vision goggles dangled from one of the hooks in it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a tank of fish in the other corner. It was barely big enough for the little silver things that swam inside of it, and it cast an odd glow through the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When the bacta was applied and covered he rose to go to the barracks, but was instead herded to the couch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He humored the girls, as Daleen asked. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul lay on the couch while the girls lay on the bed, and the lights went out. Maul watched the fish swim through their dark light, silver flickering forward and back as the darkness closed in on him. The bacta warmed on his skin. The girls breathed easier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He closed his eyes and let their steady presence sooth him enough to sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious came again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had a castle on the planet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was summoned to it frequently, and he knew the long passages better than even Sidious did yet. In the years to come he would spend much time here. Weekends, and entire months on occasion, toiling away for scraps of approval or praise and taking any punishment as a lesson, even when he didn’t know what he was being taught besides how to shore up his anger and fear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was already rather good at that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t need to follow the droid that had fetched him from the academy but he did all the same. It’s metal gleamed faintly in the light from high arches of glass. It had been cleaned recently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul chewed on the fact that Sidious took more care with droids than he ever had with his apprentice, and treated them more cordially to boot. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul took the bitterness in his chest and wrapped it around the little piece of him he’d started to store Kilindi’s strength and Daleen’s cleverness inside of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not for the first time he thought of the jedi. Jinn and Kenobi, Skywalker and Tano. They’d had such faith in eachother. So much trust and care. They would fight and die and kill for one another, even when the other was weak or dying. Years after and he could still remember the look on Kenobi’s face when Jinn dropped to the ground. Blue that </span>
  <em>
    <span>burned </span>
  </em>
  <span>with rage and grief.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was well aware that as soon as he lost his use Sidious would cast him off, if not kill him outright. He would not lift a finger to protect or avenge him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Familiar rage welled up inside of his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jedi called themselves guardians and peace keepers. They preached about kindness, compassion, and protecting the weak, but where had they been when he was being tormented and forged into a tool with no will of his own? Where were they when he was carving his way through warm flesh, screaming for anyone to find him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Nowhere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On one hand he could count the number of people who had ever come for him. Savage. Talzin. Rook, Saxon, and through them Almec. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even now, after he’d gone out of his way to send them a shadowy warning of the dangers to come, they were absent in the face of Sidious’ wrath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No matter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t need defending, certainly not from those as hypocritical and weak as the jedi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Some were strong. Young Ezra was a fierce pupil, with a powerful connection to the Force. Lady Tano, while not longer (and not yet) a jedi had still bested him more than once with training from their temple. Skywalker could have bested him as a jedi. There were a handful of dueling masters that even now he itched to pit himself against. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And of course, Kenobi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He never had managed to beat him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not on Naboo. Not during the Clone Wars. Not on Tatooine. A phantom burn hissed through Maul’s chest. Jedi spoke of the dangers of the Darkside, while conveniently glossing over how the light could </span>
  <em>
    <span>burn</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The doors swished open in front of him and Maul tucked his thoughts away, behind the swirling darkness and a spiked wall of spite. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He came upon his master at a desk. His master, he repeated it in his mind over and over. The word. A curse and hiss and wound that had never healed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Would it ever? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You summoned me?” he asked, his voice low and rough. He’d taken a hit to the throat in training today, and broken the other students wrist for their trouble. They were starting to fear Maul enough that they didn’t want to hurt him for fear of retaliation. Other’s had learned that if they held back he would hurt them worse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’ve been hiding something from me, Maul.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Ice slithered down his spine. Maul stood straighter, his yellow eyes wide. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I haven’t-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A shock of lightning screamed through his nerves and drove him to his knees. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t make a sound. He went limp, slumped over his knees while his mind whited and his vision blurred. His hearts heat harder and harder until they felt like they were going to burst from his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It stopped as soon as it started. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sucked in frantic breathes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious ripped into his mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul howled inwardly, though outwardly he didn’t make a sound. He kept breathing, faster and faster as Sidious clawed into his brain. Sharp, electric tendrils of force raked through his through. Through the darkness and the spite. Through the ashes and the fire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you think you could really hide anything from me?” Sidious laughed, cold and cruel. He rifled through Maul’s thoughts. He started to fracture in the face of. The shallow sea of darkness was clawed at. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Distantly, Maul realized that Sidious was searching. Tearing through the confines of his thoughts, his wants, his very being. A lesser being (a being less used to pain. A being less cracked. A being less ragged at the edges.) would have cried. No tears fell from his eyes, even as they stared blankly at the ceiling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A lesser being (A being less expecting to be violated so totally and relentlessly by the </span>
  <em>
    <span>man who raised him</span>
  </em>
  <span>) would have clawed at his masters hand when it closed around his throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul knew better. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious kept dragging through the shallow thoughts on the surface. Each pass screamed with pain and betrayal. Maul smelled ozone. He tasted blood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious dug deeper. Looking, searching, he was going to find- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul broke. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He choked and the shadows spat out the only thing that could protect him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All at once the pain stopped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>At some point Maul had fallen on his back. The high ceiling looked down on him dispassionately.  </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, little apprentice,” Sidious smiled down at him, a sick, cold thing on his face. “You’ve gone and gotten attached to Trezza’s little slave.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi. He had given Sidious Kilindi. How could he do that to her- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you think I would allow it? Your only focus can be your training. All that matters is the Grand Plan, and your place in it. You live only to do my bidding. You breath only to kill my enemies. Do you understand?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul croaked weakly at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Of course you do. You’ve always done what I asked. You only think of pleasing me. Isn’t that right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hand that touched his forehead was light. Maul knew better, but he still flinched away from it. Sidious slapped him hard. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Answer me!”</span>
  <span></span>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ye-es,” he forced out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. You can have no distractions. When you return to the school, you will sever your ties to the slave. And kill her. And her little human pet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious stepped away from him. Maul’s head rolled when the droid came up beside him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was going to teach you new darkside techniques today, but I felt your disquieted thoughts. I am done with you. You have wasted my time, and that slave girl will pay with her life, and you with it as well.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The droid dragged him to his feet with unfeeling metal hands. Sidious didn’t look back to watch it drag Maul from the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The droid took him all the way back to the small shuttle that had only just brought him from the academy. Or not. Dawn had already arrived. How long had Sidious riffled through his mind before he broke? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He gave him Kilindi. He betrayed her. Again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The first time he had killed her in Trezza’s office, after killing the headmaster with his own knife. He’d been covered in blood and shadow. She was the last survivor of the Orsis massacre. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Maul looked  at Kilindi. She was Staring at him blankly, but she radiated fear like a child in the presence of an enormous monster. He'd never wanted her to fear him. It didn't matter now. He never paused to wonder how his life might have been different if he had not revealed his Force powers to Meltch Krakko. He never paused at all. His only purpose was to serve his master. </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Kilindi didn't run. She did try to smile. She said, "I guess you're not interested in the surprise that Daleen and I had for you." </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Not anymore," Maul said. He made it quick. It was only mercy he could offer this girl.</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>He never hesitated. He never looked back.  </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stumbled into Kilindi’s room in the dark. Daleen nearly stabbed him in the throat for his troubles. Maul caught her knife and twisted her arm behind her back casually. He could fight children. He could fight full grown adults. He could not fight his master, and he could not let him learn his secrets. The ones that were bigger than girls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You need to leave,” he said quietly. His teeth were red with his own blood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maul?” Kilindi was halfway to the blaster she kept under her desk. Her dark eyes were fixed on him. He couldn’t imagine what he looked like. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Less like the monster that had killed her before. For better or worse. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You need. To. Leave.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why?” Daleen carefully extracted herself from his grasp. His face must have been alarming for her to try to touch his cheek. He caught her wrist. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My master. He,” Maul swallowed. “Has ordered your death.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi paled into a mint green. “He can’t. Trezza-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Trezza couldn’t stop him if he tried,” Maul shook his head. “He’s not what he seems, my master. He’s more powerful than you could imagine. Trezza can’t stop him. I can’t stop him. You need to run.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What about you?” Kilindi demanded. She was always too smart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He will hunt me down no matter how far I go.” All of Maul’s plans were out the window now. “But you he knows less. If you go now, quickly, you might escape with your lives.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can’t leave you,” Daleen argued, her jaw set fiercely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul turned on her, his eyes flashing. “You will leave. Now.” His voice bounced off the walls and around her skull. Daleen swayed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not letting you get yourself killed!” Kilindi argued, storming up to him. Maul didn’t not waver. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will not die,” he said firmly, the very first embers of an idea stirring into a spark. “I am too stubborn.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He ignored Kilindi’s crushed expression. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go,” he said again. He side stepped the door. He knew that Kilindi had the codes for the hanger, and the ships inside. After she’d been stranded on her home planet, and hunted down by the guards for killing her master, she had become almost as paranoid as he was when it came to escape plans. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Go.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi took Daleen’s hand. She threw her arms around Maul. He soaked in her warmth for just a moment, a selfish luxury he allowed himself. He was about to face a horrible fate for her. He had least deserved a hug. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We will find you again,” Kilindi swore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul nodded to her. The pair disappeared down the hall, on the way to the hangers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul made his way to the small craft landing platform and waited for dawn. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His master found him before it even broke. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Venting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Mustafar was exactly as Maul remembered. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious had even put him in his old room. One with no way out. No key pad by the door, no latch for the windows, and the vents filled with toxic gas to knock him out if he tried to hard to escape. It was meant to keep even the most powerful of forceful children inside. </p><p> </p><p>Maul hung from shackles above an anti-grave platform near one wall. He was facing the window now, showing him his own body and the black shorts he’d been left in. </p><p> </p><p>He stared at his reflection. At the floating boy outside the window. The one he’d wanted to be for so long. The one that was free. </p><p> </p><p>Free of electric whips and punishments, free of expectation. That boy had no shackles, nor lessons, nor cold, unfeeling droid to raise him. He could fly away into the lava fields if he wanted. </p><p> </p><p>Maul met that boy’s eyes with his own yellow one. They weren’t tinged with red yet. </p><p> </p><p>How strange. </p><p> </p><p>For all he’d spent most of his childhood in this one locked room Maul had no fond memories of it. All of his fond memories were of people, not places. They were the blood, sweat, and tears of a well fought battle. They were his brother at his side and power at his fingertips. They were careful hands of Kilindi and Daleen smearing bacta on his damaged body. </p><p> </p><p>None featured his master. He had learned that the ‘kindness’ he doled out was nothing more than another way to manipulate Maul and ensure his loyalty. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious’ droid paced the room. It held an electro-staff tightly in one hand. Every now and again, without warning, it would strike at him and shatter his chain of thought. Maul snarled at it. He’d tried to crush it on impulse once, but the shackles cut off his connection to the telekinetic powers of the Force. </p><p> </p><p>At the very least they didn’t keep him from working on his mind. </p><p> </p><p>Deep in the dark ocean of his memories he was pushing pertinent information down, and down, past the water, past the floor, and into lava that burned at the heart of his very being. He had to keep those parts of him guarded before anything else. </p><p> </p><p>The droid struck him across the face and Maul spat out one of his eye-teeth. Blood still filled his mouth. All he could taste was copper. All he could feel was pain. Every now and again his muscles would spasm with residual shocks. </p><p> </p><p>Unbidden, a passage from a medical book flickered through his brain. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Long term effects of electrocution and electronic torture include, but are not limited to, muscle spasms, memory loss, pain, tingling, numbness, and personality disorders and changes. This makes long term, and high grade electronic torture innefective for gathering information. Instead- </em>
</p><p> </p><p>A hiss signalled that the door opened. </p><p> </p><p>In walked Sidious, his cloak billowing around him dramatically. Inefficiency had never stopped him from shocking people. Maul personally thought he just enjoyed inflicting pain. </p><p> </p><p>A lightsaber hummed in his hand. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious came up to him and gripped his chin. Maul snapped at his fingers with sharp teeth, for all the good it did. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re a fool, Maul, and a failure as a sith. Once you would have made a powerful apprentice. You could have been great at my side. But you chose sentiment. Your future, thrown away for a pair of girls who will never be anything more than ants.” </p><p> </p><p>He drew the tip of the lightsaber down Maul’s side. It was turned up high enough to burn, but not cut into his ribs. Sidious wouldn’t end things that fast. </p><p> </p><p>“Better them than you,” Maul spat. “You stole my life-” </p><p> </p><p>“Silence,” Sidious thundered, slapping him across the face. Maul’s head spun. Had he ever heard the man raise his voice? Maul had truly enraged him. A sliver of satisfaction curled in his chest and Maul bared his bloody, gapped teeth at him in a grin. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious gathered himself visibly. Maul had never gotten such a rise out of him. The minor, phantom vengeance tastes like blood. </p><p> </p><p>“You have never pushed me so far,” Sidious said, his voice slow and sickly kind. “I have never had you disobey. I can be persuaded to forgive, if you do as I told you. I have no doubt you can hunt the slave girl and her little pet down again. You could kill her, and come again to my side.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul wanted to laugh in his face. Did Sidious think it was kindness? Did he think Maul was foolish enough to prostrate himself before the sith Apprentice and bed for a life without future, without fraternity or friendship? </p><p> </p><p>Of course he did. </p><p> </p><p>Maul would have once. Sidious knew as much. Once he would not have hesitated to do his bidding. His only disobedience would come from misplaced eagerness and bloodlust. </p><p> </p><p>Now, Maul spat blood in his face. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious ripped through his already ragged outer shields once more. He lanced through Maul’s memories of Orsis and picked them apart. Each test, each challenge, and more than that, his time with the girls. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Kilindi, bumping her shoulder to his. Daleen, carefully stitching a cut upon his brow. Kilindi touching his arm while talking casually. Daleen gripping his elbow and shooting over her shoulder as he led her through their portion of the test course.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Every brush of skin, every kindness, ever inch of camaraderie between them and each small show of care. Sidious hunted them down like a dog and all Maul could do was give them to him, and spin his hunt around the depth of his being, away from his impossible truth. </p><p> </p><p>He gave him Kilindi. He gave him Daleen. </p><p> </p><p>In return, Sidious burned the memories across his skin. Every place he’d felt gentle fingers or joking shoves Sidious struck with the heat of the lightsaber and burned deep into his skin. </p><p> </p><p>There was only pain. The taste of blood. The scent of burning flesh. </p><p> </p><p>Darkness swirled across his vision. Maul welcomed it. He focused on his uneven heartbeat under the pain. Maul drew the pain and the anger inside of him and closed it around his heart, first one, then the other. He drew inside, inch by inch, bringing every agony with him. </p><p> </p><p>The Force swirled through him and Maul forced it to slow, and finally still. His body went limp. He couldn’t see. He couldn’t hear. He couldn’t feel. </p><p> </p><p>The taste of blood was gone. The smell of his body burning vanished. </p><p> </p><p>Only the Force remained. </p><p> </p><p>It did not like being still. It was a fight for Maul to keep it like that, suspended inside him. Shadow consumed him, and he welcomed it. </p><p> </p><p>The Force showed him what happened, in the distant, blurry way of visions. </p><p> </p><p>Maul’s body went limp. He wasn’t breathing. Sidious struck him harshly across the back, where Kilindi had once rested against him with her ankle twisted. He’d carried up a mountain, and still beat the other team there while she shot each challenger who got within range. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious defiled each of those memories with pain and fire. </p><p> </p><p>Finally, he stopped. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious circled the limp body of the boy he had raised. Blood dripped lazily to the ground and his body smoke faintly. </p><p> </p><p>“I expected more,” Sidious said, frowning at his ‘corpse’. “You always had potential. I raised you to be better. What a waste of time.” </p><p> </p><p>The shackles were deactivated and Maul’s body crashed to the ground. One ankle twisted wrong and made a terrible snapping sound. The body didn’t move. </p><p> </p><p>“Dispose of him,” Sidious ordered. </p><p> </p><p>The spider legged droid that had once raised Maul, now reconstructed for some new purpose, crawled into the room and picked up the child it had brought up from infancy. The body was small and broken in its cold metal hands. Sidious left, and the droid took Maul to the ship that would dispose of waste that day. One hand hand fast to his throat.  </p><p> </p><p>The vision ended with the droid running cold fingers across Maul’s brow and tucking him carefully into the ship's ventilation shafts before it closed up the grate and erased its own memories of ever finding a pulse. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</p><p> </p><p>Maul came to to the scent of rot and blood. </p><p> </p><p>All there was was darkness and for an instant he was back on Lotho Minor, surrounded by garbage and rotten waste. Half a person, he is even less than that, and the blood he tastes is a rat he’d dragged in and a body that the snake creature had fed him. They were both mad, shrieking, and consumed by the world of fire and destruction. He was no one. He was a broken creature of hatred-</p><p> </p><p>His ankle screamed in pain and Maul gasped into awareness. </p><p> </p><p>He still couldn't see, but he could feel the pain in his ankle. He had his legs still. He was not on Lotho Minor, buried deep in darkness and forgotten. </p><p> </p><p>He was on the ship that the droid had placed him inside of. His head still swam with his near death. </p><p> </p><p>It was one of the many things that was in the Sith holocron he’d recovered with Ezra, and one of the only remaining things after its destruction. A suspended animation based in the darkside, it, like all things, took its tole on him. </p><p> </p><p>Not just his suspension, he realized. It was a fever too. His body was always warm with two hearts, but now it was burning. </p><p> </p><p>Maul tried to move. It wasn’t just his ankle that hurt, but every burn was festering in spite of cauterization. How long had he been out? He’d been woken by the ship jolting and the Force hissing warnings of danger into him.</p><p> </p><p>Maul drew the pain inside of him and spun it into the steel of strength. Slowly, he crawled through the vents he’d been sheltered inside of. He tried not to think of the TD-D9. He’d tried not to think of him for a long time, after his destruction. It was easier to hate him for the torment he inflicted than to remember the fond friendship between them. He’d mourned him, in his own quiet way, after Deenine was destroyed. He’d done his best to protect Maul from his master, even if he was too young to really understand. </p><p> </p><p>Maul quietly swore to one day return for his friend. </p><p> </p><p><em> I’m getting greedy, </em> he thought. <em> What will I do with three friends?  </em></p><p> </p><p>The vents were winding and small, but Maul was small too. He made his way to the cockpit, where another familiar face was. The droid pilot that had once dropped him off on Hypori, for his finally test for Sidious. Maul turned his gaze to the window. </p><p> </p><p>They’d dropped out of hyperspace into the middle of a firefight. Maul recognized some of the ships as belonging to pirates, trying to board, and their ship had been hit in the crossfires. Alarms kept flashing red lights on the console, and the droid was frantically trying to send a distress signal. </p><p> </p><p>Maul watched the pirates tear away from the ships they’d been foolish enough to go after. </p><p> </p><p>Why they thought they could take a full assault craft was beyond him. </p><p> </p><p>Maul’s fuzzy mind couldn’t recognize the design painted on the side, and he barely registered that he spoke the language that came over the communicator. </p><p> </p><p>The droid squeaked it’s need, and it’s cargo. They had left most of the waste behind, somewhere, and though the ship still stunk of it. Now they hauled back raw materials for building. </p><p> </p><p>Maul crawled away from the droid, his dizziness increasing when the ship shook with a boarding ramp. He stumbled. He needed to find the emergency med pac that was on the ship. Sidious kept them on all of his craft. It was…</p><p> </p><p>Fuck. </p><p> </p><p>It was somewhere. </p><p> </p><p>Maul dragged himself through the shafts, the world getting more and more blurry. His tongue kept poking into the new gap in his teeth. He didn’t think he made a sound, but he must have because someone shouted underneath him and a blaster bolt shot into his shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>Maul howled in anger and pain and the shaft, with the boy inside, collapsed to the ground. It hit with a crash that jarred every burn and break in his body, and a crack from his ribs was telling. Someone was shouting, but he didn’t register words, only the threat behind them. </p><p> </p><p>He lunged out of the wrecked vent and tackled his assaulter. His hands found their way around his throat as the body, hard and cold against his bare skin, fell back to the ground. The blaster went skidding across the ground. Maul was shaking. He was angry and cold and everything hurt but he would not allow himself to die now. </p><p> </p><p>His small hands closed around the throat and he started to squeeze. </p><p> </p><p>All at once he was flipped onto his back and he <em> screamed </em>. All the lights went out. </p><p> </p><p>There were hands on his shoulders. </p><p> </p><p>“Sshhh, <em> ade </em>, there’s no fight here,” the voice was quiet, muffled by a helmet. Maul bit the wrist nearest to him and nearly shattered his upper teeth for his trouble while the lower ones caught on the thick material of a flight suit. He was shaky and weak, the fever and adrenaline warring inside of him. The Force still muddled him with near death. </p><p> </p><p>Maybe it was Mando’a that made him ease his teeth out of the flight suit on the underside of the vambrace. Maybe it was the hum of the Force, muddled but reinforcing the idea that he wasn’t in danger. </p><p> </p><p>Back up lights kicked on in the ship, flooding the area in dim red light. It still revealed enough of him to made the mandalorian hiss through his teeth. </p><p> </p><p>“Who did this, <em> ade </em>?” the anger in his voice was almost enough to make Maul fight him again, but the Force encouraged him not to. There was no danger here. </p><p> </p><p>“Mas-ter,” he croaked, his voice hoarse and his throat bloody and raw. </p><p> </p><p>Anger radiated out of the Mandalorian and Maul drank it in, trying to use it to clear his head. His body was having none of that. Now that he wasn’t in danger of dying it was forcing him to stop fighting. To rest. To heal. Or he really would die. </p><p> </p><p>“There’s no master here, <em> ade </em>. I’m going to pick you up. Don’t go biting me now.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul did his best to scowl at the mandalorian, but he couldn’t figure out which one to glare at. Four of them blurred in his vision. The hands that picked him up were careful, but there wasn’t anywhere to hold him that wasn’t injured. The festing wounds on his back burst and leaked across the blue painted armor. </p><p> </p><p>Maul was swept into a fevered sleep by the time they reached the mandalorian ship. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </p><p> </p><p> Jango sat beside the cot in the medbay while the droid circled the boy he’d brought back from the transport ship. He’d blown the thing up as soon as they were off of it, an impulsive choice he regretted now. </p><p> </p><p>If he’d kept it, maybe he could have found out who the ‘master’ that had done this was, and where to find him. </p><p> </p><p>Low rage simmered deep in his chest, and it only mounted the more the droid told him. </p><p> </p><p>There were the obvious injuried that Jango had seen on the transport when the boy had nearly fallen into his lap. The blaster bold that, much to his own shame, Jango had put in his shoulder was nothing compared to the rest of the damage. </p><p> </p><p>His whole body was covered in injuries. Both plasma and electric burns made a horrific pattern across a body that was already mostly covered in tattoos. There were so many that Jango almost couldn’t tell if he was red with black tattoos or the opposite. </p><p> </p><p>Most of the burns had half healed, but there were many, especially the ones on his back, that had gotten infected. A fever was burned through his body, keeping the boy unconscious as much as the drip of chemicals attached to his arms. The droid had gone through most of their boosters just trying to purge the infection from his system. </p><p> </p><p>Jango wished he had a bacta tank to submerge the child in. He couldn't be more than a decade old.  </p><p> </p><p>Jango rubbed the back of his neck, where little fingers hadn’t been able to close all the way around. There were distinct hand print bruises on his throat. The boy was a fighter, that was undeniable. </p><p> </p><p>He had been for a while, if what the droid said was to be believed. He had broken an ankle and a few ribs, but there were healed fractures all across his body, some years old. One of his floating ribs was twisted in a way that indicated that it had been damaged before it had even been bone yet. There were scars all across his body.  </p><p> </p><p>The abuse had been going on for a long time. </p><p> </p><p>It made him sick. </p><p> </p><p>Jango steepled his fingers and leaned forwards with his elbows on his knees. He was lucky, this boy, if only in that Jango had even answered the distress call of the droid, and hadn’t accidentally put a bolt between his eyes when he’d been in the vents. An escape attempt? </p><p> </p><p>Jango wouldn’t put it past him. The boy fought like a feral-tooka<span>, and he bit hard enough he’d actually put a dent in </span><em><span>beskar</span></em>. Jango could respect that. </p><p> </p><p>One thing he couldn’t get out of his head was the way the entire ship had shut down, lights blown and fuses exploded inside walls when the boy had screamed. Jango had an unpleasant history with <em> jetii </em> , and the near miss on Galidraan didn’t help anything. There was no denying that this kid had the Force. Was he <em> jetii ade? </em> Had they managed to misplace one of their own? </p><p> </p><p>Jango had a lot of questions on the matter. </p><p> </p><p>None of them had answers yet. Jango finally left the medbay to let the droid finish covering the boy in bacta so he could check the autopilot. They would be landing in Coruscant in another two days. He would ask a few allies if any <em> jetii ade </em> had gone missing, and hopefully get the zabrak some proper medical treatment. </p><p> </p><p>Then he could meet up with his friend, and current contractor, and get started on a job that he could feel was going to be more complicated than it was on data pad. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Weren’t they always?  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Jango sent a message to Silas explaining the situation as well, just in case more needed to be done, and so he could look into any reports of a zabrak that matched the description. The rest of <em> Haat’ade </em> were out on similar jobs. Something quick that paid well. They needed to gather their resources and amass more money. </p><p> </p><p>Galidraan had been close. Closer than Jango would have liked. Even with the warning that their mysterious benefactor that sent them, Jango had decided that it would be best to spring the trap. He’d been smart enough to have the bulk of their forces hidden and waiting, just a brief hyperspace jump away from the planet. They had intended to round up the <em> Kyr’tsad </em> on the planet and put an end to the war, but the <em> jetii </em> had gotten in the way. His forces had gotten out with minimum damage, and only a couple of casualties, and they’d dealt a vicious blow to their enemies. </p><p> </p><p>Vizla had still gotten away. He’d hidden behind his own men, and then the governor of Galidraan and his <em> jetii </em>allies as well.  </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Hut’tuun.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>If Jango could face him in a straight fight it would put an end to everything, but he was slippery. He always managed to find a way out of a fair fight. His hit and run tactics were brutal. He’d be forced to lay low for a while after this, now that his forces had taken such a hard blow, and now that Jango knew he wasn’t above manipulating entire planet’s to get Jango he was vetting jobs more intensely than ever. </p><p> </p><p>The only reason he’d taken this one without hesitating was because he owed Clat’Ha for getting him off a dustball when they were teenager’s and he’d managed to wreck his already stolen ship. </p><p> </p><p>Jango leaned his head back on the pilot’s seat and watched hyperspace blow past him. </p><p> </p><p>Not for the first time did he long for Jaster back. He would have known what to do about the little <em> ade </em> in the medbay. Jango had a good idea, but the <em> jetii </em>aspect complicated things. </p><p> </p><p>Well. </p><p> </p><p>If the <em> jetii </em> couldn't keep track of their <em> ade </em>that was hardly his fault, now was it? </p><p> </p><p>Jango grinned to himself. </p><p> </p><p>For all his anger that the situation he’d pulled his little guest from, it wasn’t all bad. Once he woke up they could work out what happened next. </p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>tbh I'm kinda worried because I started this fic with just the one scene of Maul falling out of the ceiling and Jango going 'oh fuck who hurt this kid?!' and now that I've written it I only kinda know where I'm going with it lol please help. </p><p>If you're so inclined, let me know what your favorite part is so far!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Budding Monuments</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Maul’s mouth felt sticky. </p><p> </p><p>The tasted of fresh blood had soured into something far more disgusting by the time he opened his eyes and found himself looking up at the ceiling. </p><p> </p><p>A droid puttered to the side, one Maul didn’t recognize, changing out a trio of fluid bags. Their labels were fuzzy to his eyes, but he could recognize the colors faintly. Antibiotics, water, and painkillers. He had awareness enough to understand a needle in was his arm before the drip started and he was awash with warmth and the sensation of floating away. </p><p> </p><p>He dropped into dreams. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He was fifteen. Sidious grinned faintly, showing his straight human teeth. His hood obscured his eyes. "What happened on Orsis and aboard this station was not set in motion by my hand, Maul. In fact you were betrayed by one who told Talzin to find you, and then aided and abetted her plan to capture you."  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Maul's eyes grew wide and a wave of anger twisted across his patterned skin. "May I know the identitiy of my betrayer, Master?"  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Sidious considered Maul before he answered. "Meltch Krakko."  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> "Did Trezza know, master?"  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Sidious shook his head. "Trezza knew nothing. However I fear that we may not be able to contain the damage that has been done. We can't risk that word of your disappearance and all the followed my spread. You will deal with Trezza and the others at the school."  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The others? Maul thought of Trezza, who had always treated him with a degree of respect that Sidious never had. He thought of Kilindi and Daleen, who had shown him kindness. And then his pounding heart turned to stone and he said, "I live to do your bidding, master."  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Sidious nodded. "And as long as you do, you will continue to live. Be discrete." </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He was. He found Daleen in her room with Kilindi and cut her throat. Her eyes opened long enough to look at him before the light inside them went out, and the light of her life left the Force. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He found Trezza, who looked at him covered in blood and still tried to calm him. He stabbed him to death in front of his ward.   </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Maul looked  at Kilindi. She was staring at him blankly, but she radiated fear like a child in the presence of an enormous monster. He'd never wanted her to fear him. It didn't matter now. He never paused to wonder how his life might have been different if he had not revealed his Force powers to Meltch Krakko. He never paused at all. His only purpose was to serve his master. Kilindi didn't run.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> She did try to smile.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> She said, "I guess you're not interested in the surprise that Daleen and I had for you."  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> "Not anymore," Maul said. He held her body in hands that barely felt like his own and felt her life leave her body.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em><strike> He killed them. </strike> </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He was ten. “You need to leave,” he said quietly. His teeth were red with his own blood.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Maul?” Kilindi was halfway to the blaster she kept under her desk. Her dark eyes were fixed on him. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “You need. To. Leave.”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Why?” Daleen carefully extracted herself from his grasp. He caught her wrist.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “My master. He,” Maul swallowed. “Has ordered your death.”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Kilindi paled into a mint green. “He can’t. Trezza-”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Trezza couldn’t stop him if he tried,” Maul shook his head. “He’s not what he seems, my master. He’s more powerful than you could imagine. Trezza can’t stop him. I can’t stop him. You need to run.”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “What about you?” Kilindi demanded. She was always too smart.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “He will hunt me down no matter how far I go.” All of Maul’s plans were out the window now. “But you he knows less. If you go now, quickly, you might escape with your lives.”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “We can’t leave you,” Daleen argued, her jaw set fiercely.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Maul turned on her, his eyes flashing. “You will leave. Now.” His voice bounced off the walls and around her skull. Daleen swayed.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “We will…”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I am not letting you get yourself killed!” Kilindi argued, storming up to him. Maul didn’t not waver.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I will not die,” he said firmly. “I am too stubborn.”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He ignored Kilindi’s crushed expression.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Go,” he said again. </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> They left. They lived.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He was thirty four. Mandalore belonged to him. The duracrete and beskar walls were ornate, for a warrior society. The pacifists were dead at his feet. His brother was at his side.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> A wave of cold he’d nearly forgotten landed on the planet.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> His master had come.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The doors blew open and rage swamped across the room. It was not the battle fury of Savage, who towered over him even with his metal legs.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> He watched the mandalorians, </em> his <em> mandalorians, lift into the air, clawing at their throat. They fell limp and were dropped in heaps of black and red armor. His colors. His markings. The door swung open. Savage, at his side, tensed.  </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Anger simmered through Maul. How dare Sidious? But he did not attack. He could feel the oppressive shadow that Sidious cast upon him. He could not win, and his brother, his apprentice, was weaker still.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> The doors parted and Sidious entered.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Swallowing his pride, he fell to one knee. “Master,” he murmured, as he had done years ago.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I am most impressed to see you have survived your injuries,” Sidious said. Maul’s hand tightened on his metal knee.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I used your training, Master,” he said, though the truth was the Force was what had told him how to preserve his own life. “I build all of this, for your,” he went on, his mind whirring as he tried to spin his tale, “In hopes of returning to your side.”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Hmm. How unfortunate that you are attempting to deceive me,” he sneered down at him while Savage paced closer restlessly. Recklessly. He didn’t know  Sidious as Maul did. He thought they could do anything together, they two.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Master?”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “You have become a rival!”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> With a turn he threw the both of against walls that cracked with the impact. They dropped, and fought together, red against red, burning and rage and hate.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> They were sent flying through the windows of the palace, where Maul skidded to a stop. The electronic connections to his nerves hissed and he scrambled to his feet, reinforcing them with the Force. Sidious laughed at them, vicious and cruel.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Savage fell. Maul cradled his brother’s hand in his own, his master forgotten, watching green mist curl off of his body as his strength and life left him.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Brother!”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Brother,” Savage croaked, his eyes rolling. “I am… an unworthy apprentice. I am not like you. I never was.”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Grief threatened to strangle him. Good, he wanted to say. Don’t be like me. Be better, brother.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Remember the first and only reality of the sith,” Sidious lectured, laughing from behind him. Grief twisted into hatred, and into rage inside him. “There can only be two. And you are no longer my apprentice. You have been replaced!”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He was seventeen. "I saw your weakness long ago. Your doubts in your own abilities. Your doubts in my teaching. Your inability to embrace the dark side. And that is why, over these long years, I have secretly trained another apprentice." </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Maul had stared hard at Sidious. He hadn’t wanted to believe him. He hadn’t wanted to trust the taste of betrayal on his tongue or the coursing anger in his veins.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> "Or, poor Maul. All he ever wanted was a friend. Does it please you to know I have another apprentice? Does it make you feel less alone?"  </em>
</p><p> </p><p><em> Breathless and in pain Maul had said </em> , <em> "More than one apprentice... is against rules of the sith." </em></p><p> </p><p><em> "You are right," </em> Sidious said with a grin. <em> "A spark of intelligence, at last. My second apprentice is on the other side of the planet. He conquered all of the assassins sent after him. He only sustained a flesh wound. He is healthy. He is strong. Unlike the pathetic weakling I see before me."  </em></p><p> </p><p>
  <em> "Can you understand? Focus. If there can be only one apprentice, then one of you must die. Who do you think I have chosen to die, Maul?" </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He was twenty two, and the jedi lay dead at his feet. He would have given him a quick death if he could have, but in his excitement he’d been sloppy. If he was prone to apologizing he would have, but he was too concerned with the apprentice that threw himself at Maul with viciousness and fury.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He was stronger than Maul was expecting. The Force spun around the pair of them like the light of their sabers. Maul had never known that light could burn the way Kenobi’s eyes did.  </em>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <em> He didn’t feel the pain that came when the little jedi, in one smooth move, leapt over his head and spun to cut him in half. All he felt was horror, and a desperate, desolate rage that came with it. He would not die. He could not die- </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Vengeance, the Force whispered to him, curling around him like an old friend. Vengeance.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> He is thirty four again. The jedi stood in front of him in the throne room of Mandalore, entreating and so infuriatingly kind. He should hate him. Why doesn’t he hate?! Maul can taste his fear and his anger. But no hatred. He was to weak for that.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I have seen your village. I know where you’re from,” his voice is impossibly kind and Maul wants to scream at him. Where was that when he was a child? Where was that when Sidious was taking him apart piece by piece and building him into nothing more than a tool? A weapon?  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Another thought comes in. He had not asked Savage much about their homeland. He knew only the basics.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “I know the choice to join the darkside wasn’t yours. The Nightsister’s made it for you.” Maul can’t take the kindness. It’s a lie, a weakness, a bargain for the life of his woman- </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “Silence!”  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Maul woke again to the droid hovered over him, touching one of his still short horns. </p><p> </p><p>The fuzziness at the edge of his vision was fading. The Force loved her children, and Maul was no exception. No drug worked on any Forceful for very long, especially once it wasn’t being introduced continuously. Their bodies purged it, and Maul had trained his to get rid of toxin’s as fast as it could. </p><p> </p><p>The fact that his wounds had been infected at all had been his own fault, for stopping the flow of the Force to give the illusion of his death. </p><p> </p><p>When the droid made to replaced the bag of pain killer’s Maul bared his teeth at it. </p><p> </p><p>“No,” he meant to snap. What came out was hoarse and wrecked. Force, what had he done to his throat? Everything was still fuzzy and clouded, but clarity was steadily creeping in. </p><p> </p><p>“You will be in pain.” Said the droid, and continued to hook up the bag. </p><p> </p><p>Maul scowled. He struggled to sit up. “No,” he said again. When the droid paused to look at him and Maul reached to rip the needle straight out of his arm when the doors slid open with a soft click. </p><p> </p><p>A mandalorian stood in the doorway. His helmet was absent, his hair was sweaty and stuck to his forehead and he looked pale. </p><p> </p><p>Oh. Maul knew that face. He knew that face well. </p><p> </p><p>He hadn’t cared much about the clone wars, besides wanting to laugh that the Jedi, peace keepers, had been reduced to generals and commanders, but it was impossible to avoid during the years that it lasted, and the years of the empire that came after. </p><p> </p><p>But, it was too early for clones to be wandering around the galaxy. </p><p> </p><p>Maul had a brief spike of fear that it had happened again. That he’d fallen into dark madness and memory and lost another decade of his life to blind muttering and rot. Then he realized that the man was wearing true beskar, not the plastoid of a clone. </p><p> </p><p>They used a mandalorian as the template for their army, Rook Kast had told him with a strange kind of pride, given that her mother, and she herself were part of an organization that fought against him. </p><p> </p><p>It didn’t lessen the feeling that Maul was wrong footed here. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t pull that out,” he said when he saw Maul had his fingers around the edge of the needle. </p><p> </p><p>Maul scowled at him. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t want-” he choked and coughed before he settled for pointing at the green bag the droid held. </p><p> </p><p>“Pain killers,” the droid said dutifully. “Without them he will hurt. The bacta has worked well on him, and his fever is broken, but his ribs still need time and-”</p><p> </p><p>“Don’t. Care.” Maul said firmly. Let him hurt. It was beyond a pain that would slow him down, and now that he was aware he could turn it to strength once he felt it properly. The shadow of the darkside curled near him like an old friend, waiting to be called upon. </p><p> </p><p>The mandalorian kept looking at him. His brown eyes were wide, but there was steel in them. </p><p> </p><p>Maul met those eyes evenly. Now that he wasn’t feverish and barely alive, and the last of the suspension had faded by then. Maul breathed in and pulled the Force with it the way he had sith ashes, twice now. It curled in his lungs and purged the last of the painkiller from his system. </p><p> </p><p>“No,” he said again. His body was mostly healed. Bacta had done its work, and he healed quicker than was strictly natural as well. The outer injuries would hurt a while more, and he knew his back was still worse for wear, but he was perfectly functional like this. He’d killed Qui Gon Jinn with an injured leg, after all. </p><p> </p><p>The Mandalorian looked between the boy and the droid before he finally ran his fingers through his curly hair. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s your choice. If you change your mind, you can tell him,” he nodded to the droid. Maul didn’t respond. He continued. “Now, <em> ade </em>, want to tell me why you were on that ship?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul set his jaw. He certainly did not. </p><p> </p><p>Mando inclined his head when it became clear that Maul wasn’t the talkative sort. </p><p> </p><p>(This is, in fact Not True. Sidious just taught him to keep quiet. Free of his master and Maul had never once in his adult life shut the fuck up) </p><p> </p><p>“Okay. Then how about a name? Mine is Jango, of House Fett.” </p><p> </p><p>“... Maul,” was all he offered up. His throat still hurt, and he wasn’t keen on swallowing bacta. He’d deal with it. </p><p> </p><p>Fett nodded at him, once. “Okay, Maul. Where were you going?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul pressed his lips into a line. He didn’t know how much to tell the Mandalorian. While Fett had certainly helped him, when he didn’t need to, and old mandalorian’s had that annoying habit of adopting whatever children they found, Maul didn’t know how much he trusted him. </p><p> </p><p>Did he trust him enough to tell him about Kilindi and Daleen? </p><p> </p><p>Sidious had been right. Maul did know the pair enough to figure out where they might go next, but was he willing to risk their safety like that? Sidious was still Senator Palpatine to the rest of the universe. It was entirely plausible he would send bounty hunters out looking for the pair. </p><p> </p><p>“Away.” </p><p> </p><p>Fett looked him in the eye. Maul couldn’t imagine what he found there, but Fett inclined his head again. He wasn’t pressing for answers. Foolish, but Maul appreciated it nonetheless. If Fett worked with foundlings, as Rook called them, he would be used to people who didn’t like to talk about the past.</p><p> </p><p>“I can take you somewhere safe. There are no master’s there. You would be free to do as you wish, once you’re old enough to take care of yourself.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul curled his lip. “I am old enough!” </p><p> </p><p>A phantom smile flickered across Fett’s face. The paleness started to leave his skin. </p><p> </p><p>“You’re still an <em> ade </em>, a child. You shouldn’t be out here on your own. The galaxy is a dangerous place.” </p><p> </p><p>“I’m aware,” Maul said, scowling. “And I won’t be put away in a creche. I’m no child.” </p><p> </p><p>Sadness entered the air. </p><p> </p><p>“You are by all laws. How old are you?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul scowled. He answered, truthfully, “I don’t know.” </p><p> </p><p>That didn’t make Fett happy. The sadness, already tinged with anger, swelled with fire. Maul breathed it in gladly. </p><p> </p><p>“I won’t be sent away to live with your children,” Maul said again, firmly. </p><p> </p><p>Fett ran his hand down his face. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m on my way to help a friend, so I couldn’t take you to a Foundry if I wanted to.“</p><p> </p><p>That actually threw Maul off. “A Foundry?” What would he be doing in a metal factory? He was not working in one! </p><p> </p><p>“Easy, Maul,” Fett held up his hand placatingly. “A Foundry is where Foundling’s live before they’re adopted into a clan, or strike out and make their own.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul was slack jawed. Fett meant for him to be adopted as a Mandalorian?</p><p> </p><p>“Absolutely not!” He wasn’t against being mando, but he had just left Orsis. He was not about to be shoved into an over glorified orphanage with a bunch of sad-eyed children!</p><p> </p><p>“They aren’t bad places. Three meals, a bed, other kids to keep you company-”</p><p> </p><p>“I’m not a child!” </p><p> </p><p>“And you’d learn to fight, and a trade if you want it. It would be safe,” Fett’s voice was kind, “No one would beat you there.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul curled his lip, revealing the gap between his teeth. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not interested.” </p><p> </p><p>Even as he said it, he could tell that Fett was stubborn. Fine, Maul was too. </p><p> </p><p>“We’ll see. I’ll find you somewhere safe once we’re planet side, and we’ll figure out the rest once I return from my job. Whatever happens I will make sure you are safe. Understand?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul worked his jaw before he finally relented, his shoulders slumping. </p><p> </p><p>“Fine.” </p><p> </p><p>Worse case scenario, he killed Fett and stole his ship. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </p><p> </p><p> They came upon the planet half a day after the <em> ade </em>, Maul, finally woke up. </p><p> </p><p>The boy troubled Jango something fierce, but it was as he said; he had a job to do. </p><p> </p><p>On any other job he would have either called someone else to take over for him, or called one of his men to take Maul off of his hands, at least temporarily. </p><p> </p><p>But he’d been telling the truth to Maul before. This job was for a favor, and he couldn’t exactly pawn that off on someone else. He’d assured her that he would be the one there. </p><p> </p><p>When it came to Maul himself Jango didn’t want to foist him off on someone else for plenty of reasons, not the least of which was the ring of bruises that were trying to peak over the collar of his flight suit. For such a small thing Maul was vicious and startlingly strong, especially for the emaciated state Jango had found him in. </p><p> </p><p>Jango had every faith in the mandalorians in charge of Founderies. They dealt with hard cases all the time. Maul was far from the first freedmen that had been found by one of his people, and unfortunately he wouldn’t be the last. It meant that even if they weren’t very experienced with the Force they were very good at helping traumatized <em> ade </em> . The <em> jetii </em> magic was going to hurt things, but they could work with it. Some of his people heard the <em> Manda, </em> and as <em> Mand’alor </em> he heard them as well. They guided them and watched over them, their forebears. </p><p> </p><p>None of them ever fried a whole ship in one go, but mandalorians were nothing if not resilient. </p><p> </p><p>That said, he was reluctant to let the boy go. He didn’t want to make Maul feel like he wasn’t wanted. </p><p> </p><p>The boy was a fighter. He was stubborn, too much so for his own good. Smart, too. Jango could feel his eyes on him whenever they ate, and they watched him from the shadows while Jango moved around the ship. If Maul’s ankle bothered him, he showed no signs of it. </p><p> </p><p>The Manda hummed at Jango whenever he was near the boy, and he had been Mand’alor long enough to know better than to dismiss their quiet song. Even without them, he looked at Maul and saw the warrior he would one day become, fierce and powerful. With a crown of sharp horns pointed, strength in every move he made. He had just been missing armor. </p><p> </p><p>Jango shook his head. The Manda had been <em>very</em> loud about this boy. </p><p> </p><p>Jango initially thought that once he made contact with his friend on planet he could find a bolt hole to stash Maul in, or ask Dex to keep an eye on him. </p><p> </p><p>Maul, the trouble maker, stole a hooded poncho kept in the closet and fairly attached himself to Jango’s side. The ship was Silas’, a more discreet make than <em> Jaster’s Legacy </em>, so Jango wasn’t too surprised. Silas was one of the few Mandalorians who was willing to hide his armor and go undercover when needed, and Jango figured he would find all kinds of clothes around the ship if he had a mind to look. </p><p> </p><p>Maul stood by the door, the hood pulled up over his head, and stared at Jango defiantly. </p><p> </p><p>Jango bit back a sigh. </p><p> </p><p>Privately, he thought that this was Jaster’s doing. This was his revenge for all the shit Jango had pulled when he was an angry, hot headed <em> ade </em> and <em> buir </em>had had to drag him out of trouble a million times. </p><p> </p><p>“Keep your head down, and stay out of sight if you can. Okay?” </p><p> </p><p>The look Maul shot him was utterly unimpressed, but he nodded, once, his tattoos face half hidden by a poncho three sizes to big for his little body. The only real problem left was his ribs, and the slower healing burns on his back, and a long line that had been burned along his side.</p><p> </p><p>Jango shoved those thoughts away so he didn’t do something stupid. Like demand who had done that to child and hunt them down. </p><p> </p><p>Another time. </p><p> </p><p>They made their way down the ramp, Maul little more than a shadow in the corner of Jango’s visor. When they came upon the ship his friend was traveling on. </p><p> </p><p>The <em> Monument </em>was a crate shaped correllian barge. </p><p> </p><p>It was also one of the ugliest vessels Jango had ever seen. It was pock marked from asteroid hits over its history. Jango watched a few arconian’s march on board in miner uniforms, while crew loaded it with supplies. Out of all of it, the thing that stood out the most was a small human that stood in front of the ship, looking like he was marching to the shooting squad instead of a simple mining vessel. Jango might not have noticed him if it weren’t for the fact that Maul, at his elbow, had frozen up and was staring at the boy. </p><p> </p><p>For his part the human was oblivious. </p><p> </p><p>Jango would have asked, but they were interrupted by the arrival of his friend. </p><p> </p><p>Clat’ha stopped in front of them. Her teeth were bared in a grin that looked more like a grimace. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m glad you could make it,” she said. clasping Jango by his forearm. She looked like she had when they’d last parted ways, with her in the cockpit of her ship and he on the grounds of Mandalore. Her eyes darted towards Maul at his side. </p><p> </p><p>“Who’s the kid?” </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not a kid,” Maul snapped, but it was half hearted. His attention was still on the human who was slowly making his way onto the ship.</p><p> </p><p>“A foundling,” Jango said. </p><p> </p><p>“And you’re bringing him with?” Clat’Ha’s brows shot upwards. Jango didn’t blame her. </p><p> </p><p>“No, I-”</p><p> </p><p>“Yes,” Maul said at the same time. He was still watching the boy, but when his voice overlapped Jango’s his attention finally turned to Jango himself. His jaw set mulishly.  “I’m coming with you.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango shook his head. Clat’Ha, wiser than he, made a quick exit with some excuse about checking with the captain. Jango let her go while he knelt in front of the young one. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s not going to be safe.” </p><p> </p><p>“All the more reason for me to go.” </p><p> </p><p>“Maul,” Jango softened his voice, and tried to ignore the way it made the young one tense rather than relax. “I know you’re tough. I can see it. But I can’t let you come on this job with me.”</p><p> </p><p>“You’re not my dad,” Maul crossed his arms over his chest and looked triumphant. “You never said that Gai bal Manda.” </p><p> </p><p>That was true. He hadn’t. Jango eyed the boy. </p><p> </p><p>Jango was going to have to ask an armorer how hard it was to make a <em> buy’ce </em> for species with horns. Maul’s were short yet, but they would certainly grow with age. </p><p> </p><p>Something in Jango’s expression must have given his intentions away, because Maul’s smuggness vanished. </p><p> </p><p>“...You wouldn’t.” </p><p> </p><p>The phrase was enough to make Jango’s heart ache in his chest. Did the boy truly think he Jango wouldn’t want him in his clan? Did he think any of the<em> Haat’ade </em> wouldn’t take one look at this fighter of a boy and not lay a claim to him? </p><p> </p><p>Whatever master he had had before had done plenty of damage. </p><p> </p><p>Jango wanted to say the words then and there. The only thing stopping him was the wide eyed look on Maul’s face. For the first time, true uncertainty. </p><p> </p><p>When Jango lay his hand on Maul’s shoulder the boy didn’t flinch or pull away from it. </p><p> </p><p>“Not if you’re not ready for it. I can wait, <em> ad’ika </em>.”</p><p> </p><p>“I can’t,” he shook his head, nearly dislodging the hood. “I can’t be your <em> aliit </em>, I have brother-” </p><p> </p><p>He froze, like he’d just revealed some terrible secret. Maybe it was. It was enough that it made Jango’s blood start to boil. Maul had <em> vod </em>, somewhere. Were they still with his master? Or had they been sold somewhere else? </p><p> </p><p>“I can help you find them,” Jango offered, solemn. </p><p> </p><p>Maul visibly gathered himself. For just an instant he really had looked his age. Not like the feral creature that had fallen out of the ceiling, but a child forced into a horrible situation. Was this how Jaster felt when he’d first decided to adopt Jango? </p><p> </p><p>“After the job,” Maul said, his shoulder’s straight and his chin lifted. </p><p> </p><p>Jango nodded once. </p><p> </p><p>“After the job. Think about what you want to do after. If you want to stay with me or go to a Foundery, or if there’s somewhere else for you and your brother’s once we have them too. Let’s get back to the ship, and see if we can’t find some weapons and armor for you.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul agreed, and the pair walked side by side back to the borrowed ship.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. The Rising Force</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Maul adjusted the small holster against his hip and pulled his cloak tighter around him. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He never would have pegged Fett as being a tailor, but the mando had pulled out a thread and scissors and hemmed the cloak to fit Maul. It fell until halfway down his thighs, where he had pants and boots now. They hadn’t had the time to get Maul a full flight suit or any armor, but he was clothed at last and his long sleeves even connected to finger-less gloves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The dark cloak was pulled tight over his head. On his right hip was a small blaster, and in his new boot was a vibro-knife each. They weren’t lightsabers, but they would do. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He felt wrong to not have his ‘saber against his hip, especially when they boarded the ship. He could sense them as soon as he stepped on board. The bright light’s of two Jedi, two lights he knew well. Kenobi and Jinn. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d recognized Kenobi as soon as he’d seen him, hovering near the ship and looking like a convict about to be executed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As soon as he saw him he knew he had to get on board that ship, with or without Jango. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kenobi</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Tiny, although a head taller than Maul himself, he was barely old enough to be out of their silly little temple. Maul needed to see him again.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t know what he was going to do when he saw him. He didn’t know if he was going to stab him or demand answers that Kenobi certainly wouldn’t have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Like what had happened. Two years ago, a bit more now, Maul had died and woken again. Decades in the future Kenobi had cut him down and ended a rivalry that spanned a lifetime. Why? Maul hadn’t been able to find information on it. Not that he could risk looking very hard without tipping off his master, mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still had a scar on his hand, one triangle and one square pointed into his palm. One sith holocron and one jedi. Their voices still echoed faintly in his memory. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Soon, he needed to take another trip to Malachor. Perhaps this time he could take Young Kenobi with him. The boy wasn't a sith. He didn’t have even the sliver of possibility for it that Ezra had possessed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had done his best to make Kenobi Fall, and each time he had failed. Even in the end, Kenobi hadn’t hated him. He’d offered him only kindness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a reason that Maul had tried to get him to help him stop the rise of the Empire. The two of them were equally the best and worst examples of their respective orders. Between the both of them they could have kept Sidious from becoming emperor. True, Skywalker would have had to die, but Kenobi had lost his master, his lover, and Maul didn’t even know how many others. He would have survived losing his Padawan, if it was for the ‘greater good’ or whatever jedi preached. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was a good person. Disgustingly so. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Malachor was a graveyard for Jedi as much as Sith. Maul could use that to convince him if he really had to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango gestured to him to follow along. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t like deferring to anyone, but he would play along for now. It was better than Sidious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Maul had ever met someone worse than him he could not recall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pair boarded the ship just in time to see a young human being assaulted by a hutt, the creature’s fat fingers curled around his throat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took Maul a total of two seconds to realize who it was, and by that time Jango had already closed the distance between them and pulled his blaster. Jango levelled it at the hutt’s head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let the boy go,” he ordered, his voice level. The Force was muffled through beskar, helmet’s especially, but Maul had spent time enough with Mandalorian’s that even with Jango’s helmet firmly in place he could still feel the anger that rippled through him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mando’s and their children. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hah? Why would I do that? We do not tolerate spies here! This is offworld terf, and we will-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Drop. The. Boy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hutt eyed the blaster wearily before he tossed the body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Right at Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul caught him on instinct. The weight of Kenobi almost knocked him down, but Maul held firm. Had Kenobi always been so much taller than him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul kept a weary eye on the hutt, and Jango, ready to draw his blaster and fire. He could take four of whiphids before they got within arms length, and Jango could take the rest in that same time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The hutt cussed them out and made his leave, with the whiphids following along behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looked down and froze when he found burning blue eyes staring back up at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Young Kenobi was… not what he’d expected. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was tiny, for one thing. Baby faced, with all the puppy fat of youth that Maul, even younger than him, had mostly lost by now. He was thin and gangly the way humans’ were when they were getting ready for a growth spurt, and his hair had never been so red in the future. The last time Maul had seen it it had been almost entirely white. Had he always had freckles? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t know what he’d expected to find in his rival, but what he found was a kid. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was not the padawan that had cut Maul down. This was not the knight that had hunted him half across the galaxy. This was not the hermit that had held his dying body by fire light. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was just- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blue eyes rolled back in his head and Kenobi dropped in his arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looked up to find Jango with his visor tilted towards the pair. He felt bemused. Maul frowned at him and swung Kenobi over his shoulder’s in a firemen’s carry. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Shut up,” he snapped at the mandalorian. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t say a thing.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t have to. You have a very expressive visor.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango snorted at Maul’s blunt accusation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps I do. Let’s see if Clat’Ha has a place we can bunk down and check on your little friend there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He is not my friend!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango ignored him entirely and picked his way across the floor to the inside of the ship. There were panels missing and wires spilled out across the metal floors like the guts of a massive beast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul mentally categorized all of the easy access points, vents, weapons, and potential ambush zones. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally they found Jango’s friend, the human woman in charge of the Arconan Mining Company. She took one look at Kenobi, still limp over Maul’s shoulders with a ring of bruises blossoming around his throat, and marched them into a small closet that served as a medical bay. Apparently mining was a dangerous occupation. Who knew? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul let her take Kenobi from him and lay the boy down on a hard cot before she found a bacta spray and some bandages. A medical droid floated near by and glued a cut on Kenobi’s brow shut. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you alright?” Jango touched his shoulder. Maul twitched, but didn’t break the hold. He glanced up at the blank visor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Fine. Why wouldn’t I be?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Worry emanate from Jango, amplified by their contact. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s not always easy seeing other’s get hurt. Especially </span>
  <em>
    <span>ade</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Children.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul squinted up at him. “People get hurt a lot around me,” he said slowly, like Jango was a particularly foolish child. “In case you forgot. I would have shot the hutt dead. Or hit him under his right arm. The third lung located there is close enough to the surface that the right pressure would rupture it and he would choke to death on his own blood. At least that young. An older hutt would be harder without a blaster. They’re very annoying.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clat’Ha stared at him over Kenobi’s body before she looked to Maul’s new ‘care taker’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Jango what the </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck </span>
  </em>
  <span>are you teaching this kid?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Before Jango could even defend himself  Maul wrinkled his nose at her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He’s barely had me two days.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul hadn’t even learned that on Orsis. He’d learned that during his rise as a crime boss for the shadow collective, when he’d been forced to kill a few hutt’s to properly send a message.They would obey him or they would die. Maybe he should start building his criminal empire again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was an idea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One for later. He needed resources he didn’t have yet, and Jango was as Mandalorian as they came. They wouldn't let a kid go easily. They would protect younglings with their lives if they had to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In retrospect, Maul should have advised Kilindi and Daleen to seek them out. But Sidious might have ripped that information from his mind, so perhaps it was for the best that he didn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Wherever they were he knew they were okay. Kilindi was resilient and Daleen was intelligent. Maul had faith in them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That didn’t mean he didn’t worry about them, or miss them. They were </span>
  <em>
    <span>his</span>
  </em>
  <span>.    </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Three,” Jango corrected mildly. “You were unconscious for the first one.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah, yeah.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Somehow that only seemed to alarm Clat’Ha more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What a strange woman.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul couldn't tell if he hated or loved this ship. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>The ship itself was a hot mess, a wreck waiting to happen and it was probably older than everyone on it combined. It was dark in places where the wires needed replacing, and the whole thing was divided between two mining companies. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The entire thing was saturated with animosity and hostility, and Maul drank it in. He pulled the distrust and anger out of the air and wrapped it up in a little ball inside his chest for later. It was a technique he’d figured out himself years ago. How to skim off the top emotionally. Theoretically it could be used to take an enemies fighting spirit and enhance an allies, but Maul had never really tried to do that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He preferred to enhance himself, and he was an assassin and a warlord more than a general. He fought on his own or in small groups in dark spaces, not in open fields with legions under his command. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His little trick on Mandalore was an exception.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Maul was even able to drink up the negative emotions that Jinn released into the Force. Irritation, worry, things that Maul hadn’t noticed when he had faced the man before. It was probably because the crew had misplaced a little jedi and everyone was in a tizzy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul could have ended the confusion, but where was the fun in that? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Instead he sat with Kenobi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The boy had somehow managed to develope a fever and Jango had insisted that he be watched at all times. He’d woken up while Clat’Ha was with him, and Maul was fetching lunch with Jango. Every Time they saw the hutt’s on board Maul had to physically stop himself from trying to kill the slugs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango seemed to be able to tell how he felt, even though he was about as close to a Force Null as a man could be, and went out of his way to try and keep him from interacting with them. Outside of food runs it wasn’t hard. They were here for the Arconan Mineral Harvest Company, or whatever they were called, and that meant that they stuck to their side of the ship. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The jedi master, Jinn, was the same. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul couldn’t help but note that the ‘ever compassionate’ jedi didn’t show up to help Kenobi until his fever lowered the boys mental shields enough that his distress saturated the air in the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Jinn walked in, Maul stayed perfectly still and watched him go to Kenobi. He lay a hand on the boys brows and did… Something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Some jedi thing. Maul watched the fever start to fade and Kenobi’s eyes finally flickered open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blue. Fuzzy and somewhat delirious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"H-how?" Kenobi’s voice was hoarse and rough. Maul had the distinct feeling that he was intruding on something here. Strangely, he didn’t care. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Don't try to speak," Jinn said quietly, "You've had a bad fever, but I've taken care of it. Your wounds turned out to be worse than initially assumed." </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul nearly gagged on the raw hope that floated off of Kenobi in response. "Is it really you?" he asked.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui Gon smiled, the first time Maul had seen such an expression on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes, it's really me."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Did you come to look for me?” Obi-Wan asked hopefully. Maul nearly snorted. Well of course. This was his master, wasn’t it? Jedi always came for eachother. They were fools like that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(a quiet voiced asked if he would not have gone after Kilindi and Daleen if he could have. If he was not himself intending on going to find Savage.) </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-Gon shook his head. “I‘m on my way to Bandomeer as well. I‘m on a mission for the Galactic Senate. Our missions have nothing to do with each other.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still, we‘re together,” Obi-Wan insisted. His voice trembled with faint hope. “You could show me –”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Qui-Gon shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No, Obi-Wan, that‘s not why I‘m here. Our destinies lie along different paths. Now is the time for you to get to know the people that you will serve. You must forget about me. You must serve the Jedi in ways other than as a Knight. There is honor in that, too.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He did not say it cruelly, but it was clear that Qui-Gon‘s words struck Obi-Wan like a blow. He tried to hide it, but his eyes were sad and his shoulders hunched. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile, Maul was reeling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jinn was not Kenobi’s master? Was that why he didn’t have that silly little braid? And, more important, what did he mean Kenobi wouldn’t be a knight? That couldn't be possible! Kenobi was the best of their order, he was the first jedi to beat a sith in combat in centuries, and, at the risk of sounding arrogant, Maul was one of the best trained sith in generations. Sidious, and even his master had never gone out and tested themselves against actual Jedi the way Maul had. Even before his dual with Jinn he’d already begun his head count. He had more true combat experience than the both of them, and it infuriated him in ways he couldn't even begin to describe that he still lost to Sidious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could Kenobi not be a knight? It didn’t make sense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Was this how it had happened before? Or had Maul and Jango’s presence somehow changed Kenobi’s padawanship? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul hadn’t done much to change the events of the world besides try to stop the massacre at Galidraan. Besides that he had only been at Orsis, and then Mustafar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul, barely more than a shadow pressed into the corner of the wall, watched numbly while an arconan shyly made his way into the room and introduced himself to Kenobi. Apparently word travelled fast on the ship, and the arconan miner’s had decided that Obi Wan was as much a hero as Maul and Jango for stranding up to the Hutts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that Kenobi had done much besides get strangled and struck. He even said as much. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well, sit down and introduce yourself,” Obi-Wan said at last, waving the Arconan closer.. “In this</span>
</p><p>
  <span>place, I need all the friends I can get.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It seems you are in luck, then,” Jinn said with a mild nod towards Maul. Kenobi’s head whipped around, apparently seeing Maul for the first time. Yellow eyes met blue evenly. He would not look away from this boy. Kenobi looked away first, to the arconan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Our name is Si Treemba,” the Arconan said, perching on a chair. The room was getting crowded. “We know yours is Obi-Wan Kenobi. We would be honored to be your friend.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When attention turned to him again, he said simply, “Maul.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul could see the question on Kenobi’s lips, but he didn’t get to ask it. The door to sickbay slid open. Clat‘Ha strode in with an impatient expression, and Jango at her side. He made quite the impression. Jinn’s shoulders tightened and his hand drifted closer to the lightsaber at his hip. . </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good, you‘re here,” she said to Si Treemba, who scrambled to his feet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Clat’Ha turned to Jinn grimly. “We have a problem,” she said crisply. “Someone has been tampering with our equipment. Young Si Treemba here discovered it on a routine inspection. We have three Arconan tunneling machines in stock, and all three have been sabotaged.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How so?” Qui-Gon asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Si Treemba stepped forward. “The thermocoms that monitor the tunnelers‘ hull temperature have been removed, sir. And the coring couplers have been rigged so that they will not disengage.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t know mining equipment well, but he recognized most of the words. Thermocoms were used on certain stealth ships entering high density atmosphere’s to avoid blowing up when coming in quick and fast. If the ships overheated they would blow. He imagined that the drills did the same thing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then a hutt arrived, and the whole situation turned into a not-so-passive-aggresive show down between Jinn, the Hutts, Clat’Ha and Jango. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul watched it with growing irritation. All their problems would be solved if someone would just kill the hutt. He was guilty and everyone knew it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But the jedi wouldn’t do such a thing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul rolled his eyes when all that came of the argument was hot tempers and bland accusations of specism. Clat’Ha ran off to find her miner’s, with Jango in tow. He shot Maul a look that clearly said ‘stay out of trouble’. One Maul promptly ignored. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-Gon shook his head sadly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There is a strong hatred between those two. Neither of them will listen.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Listen to what? Maul rolled his eyes under his hood. The hutt was crooked and after power and the human was probably little better. A touch more concerned about her people maybe, and she hadn’t tried to get Jango to shoot him in the head, even if it would have been easier. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Joy. Morals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don‘t understand,” Obi-Wan said. “Why did you let the Hutt go? He may be innocent of the crime of which he has been accused. But I‘m sure he‘s guilty of others.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, he‘s guilty,” Qui-Gon agreed. “But Clat‘Ha has her defender. As Jedi, we are bound only to defend those who have no other means of defense.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was all Maul could do not to laugh outright. He had seen jedi become generals. What would Jinn have done if he saw their precious defenders of peace fight a war and send men to die on their behalf. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still, one of Jemba‘s crew has to have sabotaged those tunnelers. Why doesn‘t he try to find out who did it?” Obi-Wan asked.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-Gon answered, “Because if one of Jemba‘s men did do it, it will make him look bad before the miners‘ guild. He might be ordered off Bandomeer permanently. He knows that, so he won‘t point any fingers at his own.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” Si Treemba said. “And Clat‘Ha must feel the same. If anyone learned that one of her workers tried to frame Jemba, the miners‘ guild would be furious.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it shouldn‘t be to hard to find out who really sabotaged the tunnelers,” Obi-Wan pointed out excitedly. His eyes were bright with a spark of determination in them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui-Gon cocked an eyebrow. “This is not your affair,” he warned. “If you went looking for those thermocoms, all you would find is trouble. You must stay out of it. And stay away from the Offworld side of the ship. You‘re not fully recovered yet, Obi-Wan.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui Gon left the trio in the infirmary. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...so we’re going, right?” Maul asked without being prompted. He looked at Obi Wan, who did look a bit sheepish. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll need to search anywhere a thermocom could be.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re small,” Si Treemba said helpfully, and held up his hands to display their size. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It won’t be too hard to search most of the ship, but the hutts will make it hard when we get closer to them. Best leave those ones to me, little jedi,” Maul advised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But, I hardly know you. I couldn't ask you to do such a thing.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re not asking, and I’m not giving you a choice. Shut up and start looking on this side of the ship, before your master finds out what you’re doing and scolds you.“</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi’s gaze became downcast. “He is not my master. I am not his apprentice, nor am I duty bound to obey him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul started to grin. He’d never expected such a rebellious streak from him. Maybe there was hope for the little jedi yet, when he was still this young. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then fuck him. Let’s go to work.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi gaped at him while Maul stood and, with practiced ease, pulled a vent free and vanished inside of it. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Red Lights</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Maul had been many things in his life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Student, Assassin, Sith- hopeful, Madman, Crime Lord, Ruler of Mandalore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now he could add corporate spy to that list. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Joy.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul found Kenobi and Si Treemba sitting together in the battered mess hall that the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Monument </span>
  </em>
  <span>was equipped with, each with something suitable for their species. Zabrak were technically omnivorous, but his particular brand had an affinity for meat. They were hunters first and foremost. They both had their heads down, and Si Treemba’s green skin was pale with his anxiety and disappointment. A plate of dactyl and fungus sat in front of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul sat next to the pair, and scarred the life out of the both of them. He caught the elbow Kenobi threw at his face with ease. He peered at the jedi, unimpressed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You look like someone pissed in your moof juice,” he said before Kenobi could do something silly like </span>
  <em>
    <span>apologize</span>
  </em>
  <span>. That didn’t stop the little jedi from looking contrite. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We had no luck. Did you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul lifted his shoulder. “I found the thermocoms, in a vat of lubricant. So they’ve been recovered but there’s no way to tell who took them. Fingerprints and DNA would have been wiped away. The hutt’s are on a rampage, too. They’re ready to kill someone.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” Kenobi’s shoulders slumped. “If only…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mmmm?” Maul prompted him while he stole Kenobi’s dinner out from under him. The boy was so sad he didn’t even fight him. Or maybe Kenobi was just a push over right now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He looked guilty of something too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It was just a thought I had. When Jemba was threatening everyone. Why didn't Master Jinn just use his lightsaber to cut him down? He’s a cruel person and a criminal, and he won’t stop hurting people. Master Jinn could have stopped it, but he chose not to. I just wonder why.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul paused, his stolen dinner halfway to his mouth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was disconcerting to realize that Kenobi had had the same thought that he’d had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It seemed like every time they interacted like this Maul was thrown off course. Kenobi was not chosen by Jinn. Kenobi was willing to kill someone just like that, however he might justify it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi mis-read his expression, because the little jedi sunk lower in his chair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose that’s not the jedi way, but we’re supposed to defend the defenseless and seek justice in all things.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul mentally gagged. Familiar anger bubbled up under his skin, beneath the scars that Sidious had left on him. If the jedi </span>
  <em>
    <span>had </span>
  </em>
  <span>found him they wouldn’t have helped. He was too dark, wasn’t he? Too tainted. At best they would have sent him Dathomir to be a slave to the Nightsisters. He had been defenseless and they had never defended him. No one had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There is no justice in this galaxy,” Maul told Kenobi darkly, his yellow eyes burning. “Not unless you make it yourself.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi looked startled at him, but Maul didn’t pay him any mind. He shoved food in his mouth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Si Treemba watched him eat, his eyes on the salt resting on the table. That was right. It was a rather horrible drug to them, wasn’t it? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul paused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe he should just poison the hutts and he could convince Jango to leave this job early and go find his brothers? Hutt’s were hardy, but Maul was creative. Starship fuel would do it, right? And he could certainly make it look like an accident… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Kenobi said suddenly, “there‘s one think I don‘t understand. Jemba puts on a good show. But I sense he‘s afraid of Clat‘Ha and the Arconans. And the mandalorian too.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Jango,” Maul corrected, “Jango Fett. He would be a fool not to fear him. Mandalorians are powerful warriors, capable of going toe to toe with jedi. Don’t they teach you history in that fancy temple of yours?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi made a face at him while Si Treemba swallowed a mouthful of dactyl and fungi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We think you‘re right, Obi-Wan. He fears us. Even though it is not our intent, he knows we will destroy him one day.” </span>
  <span><br/>
<br/>
</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How is that?” Obi-Wan asked.</span>
</p><p>
  <span><br/>
</span>
  <span>“In Offworld mining, the chiefs and overseers make fortunes, while the common workers make nothing. Many of them are slaves. But at Arcona Mineral Harvest, we have no chieftains, no overseers. Each worker shares in the profits. This did not bother Offworld until Clat‘Ha began to expand our operations. So she contacts the better workers at Offworld. If they are slaves, she offers to buy them and set them free if they will work for us. If they have signed work contracts, she offers to buy the contracts. Now she has the support of a mandalorian and she is more a force than before.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That sounds fair,” Obi-Wan said.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is fair,” Si Treemba agreed. “That is exactly why Jemba fears us. Many good workers wish to join us, only the bad will stay at Offworld.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” Obi-Wan said, touching his chin in a familiar gesture. “So in a few years, Jemba will have only chiefs with no one to boss around. He‘d hate that.”</span>
  <span></span><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>
  <span>Si Treemba grinned, then turned serious. “But Jemba has stalled us. He has raised the price on labor contracts and slaves. We can no longer afford to hire Offworld workers.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul quietly filed that information away. He had no love of slavers, and freed slaves were loyal to a fault. He could use that to his advantage.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Maul ignored the little voice that was starting to sound annoyingly like Tano, or perhaps Ezra, that pointed out that he had been little better than Sidious’ slave once. He was a darksider, he didn’t need weaknesses like </span>
  <em>
    <span>sympathy</span>
  </em>
  <span>.)</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> “It’s no surprise. Hutt’s run the crime empire in the outer rim. Of course they’ll use glorified slave labor for legitimate businesses too. Does Jango know all this?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Si Treemba shrugged. “We thought you would know. He is your guardian, isn’t he?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul curled his lip. “I need no guardian, and I am no Mandalorian.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah. We are sorry. We had heard that Mandalorians were fond of children.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not a child,” he snapped irritably. “But you are not wrong. They’ll adopt anything that moves if given the change.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I heard Mandalorians were killers for hire, a violent race that tried to conquer the galaxy,” Kenobi said quietly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul snorted. He wasn’t entirely wrong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mandalorian isn’t a race. It’s a creed. Anyone who swears the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Resol'nare </span>
  </em>
  <span>is Mandalorian. I haven’t, and he hasn’t adopted me, so I’m not a mandalorian.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are a simple zabrak?” Si Treemba said dubiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul flashed him his sharp, gap toothed grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not hardly. I am a-” dark sider, crime lord, warrior, assassin, “Nightbrother.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Si Treemba grimaced. “You should keep yourself hidden from the Hutts then, Maul. We understand that Nightbrothers are very prized on the black market.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi looked ill. He pushed the rest of his plate towards Maul, who had no qualms finishing the bird. Perfectly at ease, he kept talking while he ripped the flesh apart with his sharp teeth. He was still getting used to the feeling of his eye-tooth being missing. Zabrak had a few extra teeth than humans, but his hadn’t even started to come back in, leaving a fleshing gap in his mouth that he kept worrying with the tip of his tongue. It tasted faintly like blood even though it had stopped bleeding some time ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m aware. The Nightsisters breed us to be strong and resilient, among other things,” Savage hadn’t enjoyed telling him about their homeland, but Maul had learned on his own. He learned much on his own after the rise of the Empire, about the sith and the Nightsisters both. Some of it was useful. Most of it would have had Kenobi pale and puking if he knew what his people were capable of.  “Slavers from Rattatak tried to steal me once, for a warlord there,” he added idly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you escaped?!” Si Treemba stared at him in shock. “We know Rattatak is a dangerous place. They have gladiator tournaments and many civil wars.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t that hard. There was only a small force, and I was not alone for it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looked down at the bones on the plate. Wasn’t Ventress on Rattatak now? Or if she wasn’t she would be soon. Maul wasn’t even certain she’d been born yet. Or would be, if he arrived on Dathomir before she was born. He could not promise the survival of all the Nightsisters if his brothers were not in top shape. Talzin may or may not have been his mother, but he would not allow harm to his brothers go unpunished. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How much would that change? How involved in the galactic plan had Ventress been a part of? She had briefly ruled Rattatak, before being made an apprentice to Dooku, who was in turn an apprentice to Sidious. Had that happened yet? Was Dooku still a jedi master? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Time travel was just one headache after the other. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Still. We think it is very impressive. There are many brave people on this ship,” Si Treemba said with a small smile. Kenobi returned it weakly. Maul tried not to roll his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Si Treemba was far too easily impressed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi too. Shouldn’t the jedi have prepared him better for this? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In fact, shouldn’t the jedi have sent him with an actual guardian, instead of on his own? Jinn certainly didn’t count. The man was much more useless than Maul had initially thought. He’d respected him for his fighting prowess, and for raising a jedi as good at fighting as Kenobi was, but how much credit did Jinn actually deserve, if Kenobi was here on his own? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should tell the others that you found the thermocoms,” Kenobi suggested. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I already told Jango.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d looked exasperated by Maul going off and doing investigating on his own, but hadn’t scolded him in front of Clat’Ha and Jinn. Even if he had, he wasn’t Maul’s father. Maul owed him a small debt, but that was all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul eyed Kenobi speculatively. “Why aren’t you training to become a knight?” he asked suddenly, the question that had been bothering him for hours. Surely nothing Maul had done would change Kenobi’s life up until this point. Which meant that his Kenobi, the one he’d fought for decades, had had this happen to him too. He’d been sent away from the temple. He’d been assigned a farming job. And somehow he had returned to the temple, made a master out of Jinn, and become a powerful duelist as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi jerked back like Maul had come at him with a knife instead of a simple question. Maul could taste Kenobi’s disappointment, fear, and insecurity. And there, at the center of it all, was anger. Maul had gotten him angry before. Enraged over the death of his loved ones. This was a different kind of anger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul carefully prodded at Kenobi’s mental shields. They weren’t as strong as they would be in the future, and Maul had to be mindful. His own shields were still ragged and being built back up, but he would need more time to get them back in shape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul hid a grin. Kenobi looked away from him, down at the table, and fiddled with his sleeve cuffs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would rather not talk about it,” he said quietly. “The temple decided that I wasn’t fit for- for the role of a knight. That I would be better suited to serve in other ways.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As a farmer.” Maul said dubiously.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” the word came out sour on his tongue, “The agricorps are an important, honorable way to serve the galaxy.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi’s declaration sounded utterly hollow. Maul propped his chin on his hand and his elbow on the table with a ‘thump’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Nearly everyone needs food to live,” Maul conceded. “But you don’t want to be a farmer, do you little jedi?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi shook his head miserably. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul watched Kenobi squeeze his eyes shut, his face flushing under his freckles, before he drew his shoulders back and sat up straighter. His expression smoothed, at least a little. He hadn’t perfected his sabacc face yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But it was decided by people wiser than I am. And it was my own fault so-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So here you are.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So here I am.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Si Treemba, who had been watching the pair quietly, piped up. “We are glad you are here, Obi Wan. We are proud to be your friend.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That, at least, got a smile out of Kenobi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you, Si Treemba. And thank you too, Maul.” He must had seen Maul’s confusion. “For helping us. You didn’t have to.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul huffed at him. “Of course I didn’t have to. But I’m stuck on this ship with the rest of you. If war breaks out it might be inconvenient.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pair looked at eachother, then at Maul, and started laughing quietly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stared at them blankly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hadn’t been joking! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul really needed to find a place that was private, where he wouldn’t be disturbed by anyone. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was getting tired of only having a blaster and a knife. He wanted his lightsaber back, and unlike jedi he didn’t need to waste his time exploring some overglorified ice cave to get one. He could make his own crystals, and he had his whole life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His original crystal, the very first one he’d ever made, had been made from necessity. He’d been sent to kill a reclusive jedi master, Siolo Ur Manka. He hadn’t been able to, and when he was forced to flee he drew upon a design he’d found in his masters sith holocron. A blue print left from the weapon of Darth Zannah, Bane’s apprentice and an unbeatable combatant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took him four days to properly craft the crystals, two for each one. He had entered a deep meditation, one that almost killed him with dehydration. He’d been sustained by the darkside and his own feelings. In the end he had used the trick of the second blade to run Manka through. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That lightsaber had served him well until he’d lost it after his duel with Sidious on Mandalore. Now, surrounded by hostility and in the presence of jedi, he felt its absence much more acutely than he had on Orsis. It’s weight had always been a comfort on his hip. Even in those years lost to madness he had kept it with him in a box in his scrap cave. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wished, sometimes, that he had taken Sidious up on his offer to name it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“It, like myself, is nothing more than a tool in your fist. It is undeserving of the honor of a name. Let it be nothing more than what it is. An instrument of murder, and nameless.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Still true. Maul was an instrument for murder, an accumulator of power, but it was under his own authority now. Not Sidious’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His name was his own, whether his mother had given it to him or Sidious had bestowed it upon him, he took it and made it his. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, years later, Maul had learned how to make a lightsaber crystal in less time than two days. He only needed half of a day to make one now, and a furnace to provide heat to the raw materials. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Those materials, raw minerals and stones, were easy to find on a mining ship. A furnace would be easy too, for the same reason. Miner’s kept small ones with them for any number of reasons, and ships themselves usually had very hot engine’s he could utilize.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The problem came with the face that Maul couldn’t find a moment of peace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A strange thing for a darksider to seek. Sith did not seek peace, but Maul required privacy at the very least to do this, or he would out himself to both jedi and Fett as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was not interested in that at all. Too many complications. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anything he needed to build the ‘saber itself was on the ship too. He’d made a small bag of pieces he could use. Spare pieces of mining equipment, ship parts, bits of weapons he’d taken the liberty of removing from the whiphids, would all come together to make a perfectly functional lightsaber. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>While Maul wouldn't be able to conceal his saber in a cane anymore, Jarrus and Ezra were wonderfully creative. When Maul had had his fake legs he’d kept his saber in one of them for a time, before he was old enough to warrant a cane. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now neither of those were options. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul ended up patted Jango on the shoulder at breakfast. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to go sit in the vents,” he said, the truth. “I’ll see you tonight.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango narrowed his eyes at Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Are you… okay?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was fairly certain that he meant mentally or emotionally. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m fine. Don’t wait up.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango caught his shoulder before he could leave completely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maul,” he said, his voice gentling again, “If there’s anything you need, you can tell me. I’ll do my best to help you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul really didn’t understand him. Maul was no mandalorian, and he really could handle himself, even if Jango didn’t understand that. Jango had no obligation to him. Maul was just some rabid zabrak that had fallen out of a vent and tried to strangle him. He’d known him less than a week, and already he wanted to help him recover his brothers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wanted to </span>
  <em>
    <span>adopt </span>
  </em>
  <span>him for Force sake! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Against his will Maul felt some tension bleed out of him. Jango was genuinely concerned, but also amused. Others might not have given him the same freedom that Jango did. But Mandalorian children were independent too, if not as independent as Maul was. He’d been self reliant for so long. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am fine. It isn’t something to worry about…. Well. The Jedi might worry about it,” he admitted, tilting his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango’s mouth twitched towards a smile. “Don’t get into any trouble you can’t get out of.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul snorted at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Give me some credit,” he chided. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango patted his head, mindful of his horns. “Of course. You could take the whole Galaxy by storm if you set your mind to it, couldn't you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was aware he was teasing. That didn’t stop the vicious grin from curling on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see you tonight,” he said again, and left Jango in their shared room. The man was reluctant to eat outside of it, or remove his helmet anywhere on the ship. Maul doubted he was one of the more hardcore Mandalorian’s who never took it off unless in the presence of family, so it must have been healthy caution. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul made sure no one else was looking before he crawled into the vents. One good thing about this ship being so dilapidated was it made it easy for a small zabrak to get around unseen. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He made his way to the engine room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The engineers were keeping a decent eye on things, but they missed Maul picking his way to the sublight engine. While the hyperdrive was engaged it wouldn’t be used to propel them, but it would still be kept running so it could take over in case they dropped out of hyperspace unexpectedly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul searched until he found the hatch that led to the firing cells. They helped dispurse the heat created by the engine inside, to keep it from melting under the sheer force of fission reaction that happened inside. If they were out of alignment the engine would overheat and explode. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul used the Force to keep the heat inside when he pulled the the hatch open, and used it again to guide the particles inside the firing cells. With part of his focus on keeping the raw minerals, small quartz, carbon dust, and simple coal, in the center of the firing cell Maul scampered back into the vents, out of sight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Then he focused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Trusting the unrest of the ship to hide his workings from Jinn, and trusting the Kenobi was too caught up in his own turmoil to notice either Maul closed his eyes and </span>
  <em>
    <span>focused</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Piece by piece he pulled the pieces together and drew heat around them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul reached into the ocean of his being. Deeper and deeper, past the darkest parts of his being, until he found the harsh center where lava made of rage bubbled lazily. Waiting for his use. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul gripped that heat and pulled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anger twisted in his grasp and steadily wrapped around the components of his crystal. Layer by layer, he added more of himself and more of his anger. Anger as jedi, for never coming for him, for discarding Kenobi’s potential. Anger at Dooku and Vader for taking his place. Anger at Sidious for a life time of torment and pain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Anger at himself, for not taking his life into his own hands the first time. For not saving his brother, or Kilindi or Daleen. For failing his men. For failing his own ambitions, and letting himself be struck down by the same man twice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul breathed in, and along with that anger came threads of something else. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had always drawn on his anger and ambition to drive him, but something else seeped into his mind. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kilindi. Daleen. Savage. Kast. People he had failed once. People he would not fail again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His hearts twisted hard in his chest. Never again would he allow himself to fail his people. They were his. They belonged to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Their lives were his. Their future was his. Their goals and dreams belonged to him. His to ensure, his to defend, his to push them towards.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>His</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Slowly, inside the firing cell, the components started to split into two distinct crystals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Offense and defense. Anger and determination. Vengeance and loyalty. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sweat beaded across his brow and the heat increased. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Peace is a lie, there is only passion.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Through passion, I gain strength.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Through strength, I gain power.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Through power, I gain victory.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Through victory, my chains are broken.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Force shall set me free.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Maul poured himself into the firing cell. Each sliver of stone fitted together and sealed with the fires of his being. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Piece by piece. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul forced them together, under the head and pressure of his anger and need. A new heat wrapped tightly with the rest as a part of him he’d half forgotten existed cracked open and bled into his crystals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Gold eyes snapped open and he sucked in a ragged breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The engineers had changed. He didn’t know how long he’d been in that fiery state. Maul waved shaking hands at the engineers, who had the sudden idea to go get caf while he stumbled messily into the engine room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His hands were tremblings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul barely had the energy to open the valve and float his crystals out into his waiting palm. He barely noticed how hot they were when they dropped into his black tattoed hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two crystals. One red, the other scarlet. Just a shade of difference, but enough to catch his eye. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul carefully pocketed the two crystals and stumbled back to the vents. He was utterly exhausted, physically and mentally, but he felt more stable to have the stones against his thigh. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango came back to the room to find Maul passed out on his bunk, sleeping like the dead. It was the most relaxed he had seen the boy since he’d been nearly comatose on their way to Coruscant.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If it wasn’t for the steady rise and fall of his chest he might have panicked and dragged him to the medical bay. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As it was he settled on the bunk on the other side of their small room and watched the boy rest. He may not know what had happened, but he knew that tension had risen high on the ship today, and he had the inexplicable feeling Maul was responsible for it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would have let him sleep, but at that exact moment the ship lurched and alarms sounded, blaring red lights through the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were under attack. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Maul : I have to hide my force sensitivity from the Jedi and Jango, it’ll make things too complicated and Jango probably hates the force and Jedi </p><p>Jango : this is my space wizard son, he’s feral and I love him</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Simple Solutions</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So! There's quite a bit of this chapter that some of you might recognize from 'The Rising Force'. I'm still deciding exactly what I want to do with Baby Wan. If I want Jango to adopt him, or if I want Maul to keep showing up like a bad penny at the weirdest times in his life.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Maul eyed the water on the planet they had found themselves stranded on with no small amount of distaste. </p><p> </p><p>There was no Kilindi here to make the ocean enjoyable, only encroaching danger. Maul could already see where the tide lifted towards the caves high above them. It left a thin line of a sediment where what little vegetation that existed here did not grow. </p><p> </p><p>They would have to abandon the ship and take everything they could carry up to shelter. The water was drinkable, with only small amounts of saline. The Arconan’s would have to rely on water from the ship. </p><p> </p><p>No one else seemed to have noticed the lines that marked the ocean tide, but then again most of them were busy repairing the hull or didn’t have the same kind of low-light vision and Nightbrother and darksider were afforded. He needed no light to see by at all, though it helped with finer details. </p><p> </p><p>Maul kept a careful eye on the draigon’s that circled overhead. </p><p> </p><p>He was still mad that he’d slept through a Force-damned pirate attack. </p><p> </p><p>Slept! Him! </p><p> </p><p>Perhaps he had poured too much of himself into crafting his crystals, but whatever the case was this was one past event he could not change. He’d only woken up hours after everything was over, to discover that they had crash landed on this no-name planet. </p><p> </p><p>Jango kept shooting him worried looks that Maul studiously ignored. </p><p> </p><p>If he was truly pressed, Maul would say that he had pushed himself too hard after being so badly injured, no matter the wound it would leave on his pride. It was better than the truth. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> ‘Yes,  by the way the master I was escaping is a sith apprentice and I’m a time travelling assassin sorta-sith-lord hellbent on vengeance for a literal lifetime of torture he inflicted on me. I was hiding in the vents to make super rare crystals with my mind undisturbed and that's why I slept through a pirate attack. By the way Kenobi is going to become one of the best jedi ever if Jinn will just get his head out of his ass. Do you know why he’s not taking apprentices?’  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>Yeah, that would go well. </p><p> </p><p>Maul left the crewmen to keep trying to patch up the hull before the water could rise so he could help Jango get their supplies from their rooms, but something in the force lead him to the medical bay. </p><p> </p><p>He stopped in the doorway, the automatic doors cracked open and broken. They made sad, pathetic hissing sounds when they tried to open or close but had no luck with either. He arrived just as the medical droid and Clat’Ha were leaving. </p><p> </p><p>Maul passed them by. While he was here he might as well get a wrap for the wrist he’d twisted when he’d been thrown from his bed onto the floor during the landing. It was the pain that finally woke him. </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon spared him a glance when he slunk in, a small shadow, and opened drawers until he found what he was looking for. While Maul found long strips of compression fabric Qui Gon studied him and Kenobi intermittently. </p><p> </p><p>Finally, he spoke. </p><p> </p><p>“Obi-Wan, when you accelerated the ship, what thoughts did you have?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul paused. Kenobi had crashed the ship? Why had he even been flying it? Maul would have bet money he’d never flown anything larger than a land speeder. </p><p> </p><p>“Thoughts?” Kenobi asked doubtfully. “I wasn‘t thinking about much of anything. I was afraid of the pirates, and I just knew I had to get away fast.</p><p> </p><p>“So you didn‘t think about the fact that you would tear the ships from the docking bays and kill hundreds of pirates in the process?” Jinn asked in a neutral tone. Neutral, but Maul had been tested enough by Sidious, whose sabacc face was far better than Jinns. There was a trap in his words. A test in his mind. Maul turned to study the Jedi Master. What was he up to? </p><p> </p><p>“I didn‘t think about what I was doing,” Obi-Wan replied. “The Force led me.”</p><p> </p><p>“Were you frightened? Angry?” </p><p> </p><p>There it was. Two strikes against the jedi tenant. Didn’t they understand that anger could be used to make them stronger? Didn’t they understand that fear kept one alive? </p><p> </p><p>“Both,” Kenobi admitted, startling Maul. “I . . . fired on the pirates. I killed, but I didn‘t do it in anger. I did it to save lives.” </p><p> </p><p>How very righteous. How very like Kenobi. </p><p> </p><p>Qui-Gon nodded, just the smallest of movements. “I see.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul could feel it in the Force. Something settling. The prickling on the back of his neck lessened. The test was over and passed, Kenobi had answered correctly. And not been punished for it. Still, Maul felt, Jinn found Kenobi wanting of something. </p><p> </p><p>He was missing pieces here, and the only ones who had those pieces were the two jedi in front of him. Kenobi clearly knew some of it, but he was nearly swaying in his boots and that last time Maul had asked him directly the boy had nearly started crying. Maul did <em> not </em>want a repeat of that. </p><p> </p><p>The Force told him before Si Treemba rushed in. The Arconan was out of breath, panting, and utterly off color. </p><p> </p><p>“What‘s wrong?” Qui-Gon asked. He stood and tenderly stretched his shoulder. He’d been wounded in the fighting, and his arm had nearly been severed. </p><p> </p><p>“Please come quickly!” Si Treemba panted. “Jemba the Hutt has stolen our dactyl!” </p><p> </p><p>Maul rolled his eyes. Of course he did. There wasn’t a dull moment of this Force forsaken vessel, was there? </p><p> </p><p>The three Force wielders followed Si Treemba out of medical and into the dawning light of the planet. The draigons were still sleeping, some floating on harsh drafts of wing above their heads and some nesting in the cliffs near the caves they would no doubt have to shelter in come true day break. </p><p> </p><p>Maul and Kenobi stood between Jango and Jinn facing the massive hutts. They were outnumbered by their whiphid’s, but Maul knew that they could win in a fight if it was down to just the four of them. But it wasn’t. </p><p> </p><p>The Arconan’s weren’t fighters. Si Treemba was the only one among them with any guts at all. They would get caught in the cross fires and die, and Jango was here to protect them. It was meant that they were playing a stupid game of space chicken, and no one was willing to flinch first. </p><p> </p><p>Maul contemplated shooting both hutts in the head and then claiming control over the whiphids. </p><p> </p><p>“You won‘t get away with this,” Jinn warned Jemba the Hutt. He spoke calmly, for all this was a life or death situation for the Arconans who stood silent behind him. It would have been more effective if Jinn didn’t look ready to collapse. His skin was pale and his hand, folded into his long jedi robes, shook faintly. </p><p> </p><p>Jemba shook in amusement like a giant grey worm. </p><p> </p><p>“What can you do, puny Jedi?” he boomed gleefully. “No one can stop the great Jemba! You Arconans were too frightened to face the pirates. They hid, while my men fought and died. Soon these cowards will be my slaves!” </p><p> </p><p>Maul sneered at him. He didn’t disagree. They were cowards, and the whiphids had died for it, but he wasn’t interested in the hutts little corporate games. If anything the arconans owed the whiphids for their help, not the hutts who kept them just as enslaved as anyone else. Maul could see the thin line of collars under their long fur from where he stood. </p><p> </p><p>Jemba and his men had taken over the Arconans‘ lounge. A wall of Offworld miners backed Jemba. The Offworlders stood ready for battle. Maul’s group  stared down the barrels of at least thirty blasters. Some of the Offworld thugs also held shields and wore armor. Jemba‘s men obviously held more than just the Arconans‘ dactyl.</p><p> </p><p>They held most of the ship‘s weapons.</p><p> </p><p>Maul would feel Kenobi’s outrage at the injustice and the threat to his little friends. Beside him, Clat‘Ha pulsed with lividity. She held her hands down loosely, ready to draw her weapon. But she and the Arconans were greatly outgunned.</p><p> </p><p>“Be ready,” Maul told Kenobi quietly, taking careful stock of the situation. Space in the room, number of combattants, number of blasters, and who wielded them. </p><p> </p><p>Maul glanced at Jango. The mandalorian seemed oddly calm, but he could feel his anger through the Force and see the tension under his pauldrons. </p><p> </p><p>“It is not justice you seek, Jemba,” Jinn tried to reason, his voice echoing faintly with the Force “You hope only to satisfy your greed. Nothing will be solved this way. Put down your weapons.”</p><p> </p><p>Jemba waved a hand, as if testing the air. “Ooh, is that your powerful Force I feel? Ha!” he spat. “Your Jedi tricks are so puny, they make me laugh. They cannot work on the great Jemba. And look at you, Jedi. You‘d don‘t have the sense to stay out of the way of a vibro-ax. Anyone can see you are too frail to fight. There is nothing you can do to stop me.” </p><p> </p><p>Fury pulsed off Kenobi at the Hutt‘s taunting, startling Maul. Had he ever felt Kenobi’s anger so clearly before? He leaped past Jinn, directly in front of Jemba. Maul quietly vanished among the arconans and made his way around back, slipping past the whiphids, droids, and humans that made up the Offworld company.</p><p> </p><p>“I can stop you!” Kenobi shouted. He brought up his lightsaber. What foolish, excellent distraction.</p><p> </p><p>Jemba‘s huge eyes narrowed in anger. The thugs who surrounded him stood their ground. They weren‘t afraid of a mere boy.</p><p> </p><p>“What, Jedi?” Jemba said contemptuously to Jinn. “You send a child to fight me? Is this some insult?” Jemba looked to his right and left, and raised a huge fist high enough Maul could see it over the crowd. He made eye contact with Jango and raised his blaster where the Mandalorian could see. </p><p> </p><p>Jango inclined his head, just barely. </p><p> </p><p>Maul grinned and levelled the weapon at the back of Jemba’s head. </p><p> </p><p>Jinn saw Maul too. He reached out and touched Obi-Wan‘s elbow. “Put your weapons away,” he said calmly, his voice carrying easily to Maul as well. “You can‘t win like this. If he opens fire, people will die needlessly. A Jedi must know his true enemies.”</p><p> </p><p>Kenobi was shaking with confusion. Maul scowled. He was not taking orders from a jedi! </p><p> </p><p>He tilted his blaster to make sure he hit Jemba directly in the head. </p><p> </p><p>“What do you mean?” Kenobi asked. Sweat streamed down his pale, freckled face. “Which one of them is our enemy?” His eyes darted briefly to Maul. </p><p> </p><p>“Anger is our enemy,” Qui-Gon said reasonably. He shot a glare across the room to Jemba, and at Maul as well. “Greed and fear are also our enemies. The Arconans can live without dactyl for awhile. You do not need to fight now. Haste is another enemy.” </p><p> </p><p>“A wise move, little one,” Jemba said with a deep laugh. At his prompting the rest of the Offworlders lowered their weapons. </p><p> </p><p>There. </p><p> </p><p>Maul pulled the trigger twice. </p><p> </p><p>Jemba and Grelb, the hutt who had attacked Kenobi at the start of the voyage, fell dead to the ground. Holes smoked out the back of their great, slimy heads. </p><p> </p><p>In the time it took the whiphids, strong but slow, to turn around and raise their blasters Maul had already blasted the heads off of all the droids. Jango drew his own blasters, as did Clat’Ha, and a very irritated looking Jinn ignited his lightsaber. </p><p> </p><p>Jango lifted his blasters but didn’t fire. Maul stood in front of the ensembled Offworld crowd, still but unafraid. He pulled their aggression towards himself, stealing it straight from them. The whiphids looked confused, and the humans shook their heads as their anger started to fade, but no one fired at him. They were at least that smart </p><p> </p><p>“Now that that’s settled,” Jango said, his voice cutting through the crowd, “we’ll be taking the dactyl back. Anyone have a problem with that?” </p><p> </p><p>“He just killed the boss,” one of the humans spun to face Jango, and got a blaster pointed at his face. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, he did. Do you really have a problem with that?” Jango asked steadily. </p><p> </p><p>The human eyed the blaster before he looked down at the bodies of the hutts. Finally, he holstered his own blaster and spat on their corpses. </p><p> </p><p>“They died in the crash,” the human said at last, and squared his shoulders. He looked back over the other Offworlders. “Guess that puts me in charge until we get to Bandoneer. Give ‘em the dactyl. I’d like to live long enough to at least <em> see </em>Bandomeer. “ </p><p> </p><p>The others grumbled, but no one put up a fight. Someone turned over one of the big crates of dactyl over to Clat’Ha. </p><p> </p><p>Maul strode through the whiphids until he was standing in front of Jango. The Mandalorians head tilted. Maul got the impression of irritation, but he couldn't tell what it was aimed at. </p><p> </p><p>Slowly, the group dispersed. </p><p> </p><p>Maul put his blaster away while Clat’Ha watched him. He couldn't quite read what was in her eyes, but the concern was unmistakable. Concern, and fear perhaps? So be it. </p><p> </p><p>Clat’Ha turned to Jango, a question unspoken, and he just shrugged. </p><p> </p><p>“Kid nearly broke my neck the first time I found him. And he didn’t even have a blaster then.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul scowled at him. “I should have finished what I started, old man.” </p><p> </p><p>Nevermind that Maul had lived longer than Jango ever would. Ever had? Fuck it. </p><p> </p><p>“Now you’re just being rude, <em> ad’ika </em>.” </p><p> </p><p>“I am not a child!” </p><p> </p><p>“You shot them.” </p><p> </p><p>The trio broke out of their ‘discussion’ to find the two jedi were watching them still. Kenobi kept his eyes on Maul. They were bright. </p><p> </p><p>“Well your master wasn’t doing kriff all,” Maul said pointedly, eying Jinn. </p><p> </p><p>Jinn’s mouth thinned into a line. “It was dangerous to engage in combat. What you did was reckless and foolish. You could have gotten yourself and others killed. The arconan’s could survive without dactyl for a while. As I said.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul looked him up and down. Jinn was nearly twice as tall as Maul was now, and the grey in his long hair and bear was gone. Younger and stronger. </p><p> </p><p>“So you would have asked them to suffer while you puttered around and tried to find a ‘diplomatic’ solution?” Maul sneered before his expression morphed into an epiphany. “Or was the jedi going to <em> steal </em>the dactyl back?” </p><p> </p><p>“Master Jinn would never!” Kenobi argued, looking horrified. </p><p> </p><p>Jinn’s cheek twitched. Maul grinned viciously. </p><p> </p><p>“What you did-” </p><p> </p><p>“Worked,” Maul cut in. “And last I checked, no jedi ever came to take me to your sparkly little temple. You have no place to lecture me, Qui Gon Jinn. You are not my master, nor my father, and I owe you less than nothing.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango’s hand landed on Maul’s shoulder, bringing him up short. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s done is done. Maul’s strategy worked. The dactyl will be returned, and only the hutts and a few droids died.” </p><p> </p><p>“Perhaps it was the Will of the Force,” Maul offered, relishing the way Jinn’s hand folded into his robe to hide how tightly his fists had clenched. </p><p> </p><p>Needling Jedi was almost better than killing them, Maul decided. </p><p> </p><p>“What’s done is done,” Jinn repeated, his jaw working under his beard. “I must retire, then, and see my wounds.”</p><p> </p><p>Kenobi looked hesitantly between Maul and Jinn before he finally made to help Jinn to his room. Clat’Ha followed after them. </p><p> </p><p>Once they were alone, Jango tilted his visored face towards Maul. </p><p> </p><p>“As much as I hate to admit it, the jetii wasn’t wrong. That was very dangerous. You made a target of yourself there.” </p><p> </p><p>“I was fine,” Maul shook his head. “I have been in much worse situations.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango was sad, again, and angry. Maul was becoming much more attuned with his emotions. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s not- Maul’ika, that’s not a good thing. You shouldn’t have had to be in those situation. Someone should have protected you.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul bristled, anger flashing in his eyes. He wanted to snarl at Jango that he didn’t need such things but- </p><p> </p><p>But Jango was right. </p><p> </p><p>Sidious’ rearing had made him powerful, it was true, but he would always begrudge the jedi for never coming for him. He would always taste bile when he remembered that time and again he had had to save himself. </p><p> </p><p>“... Some did. Some tried.” Savage had guarded his back. Rook Kast and Gar Saxxon had come for him. Kilindi would have tried even if it killed her, and Daleen too. DeeNine had protected him as best as he could, and in the end saved him from Sidious. </p><p> </p><p>Wasn’t that a strange thought? Almost as bizarre as the idea that he had three whole friends. </p><p> </p><p>Jango’s anger eased. </p><p> </p><p>“That’s something, at least. Come, there’s still much to be done. You did good work today. We’ll need to get you some armor, if you’re going to take risks like that.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango touched his shoulder and guided Maul away. He tried not to be pleased. He didn’t need praise to know he had done well. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan carefully helped Master Jinn lower himself onto his sleeping couch in his small quarters. The two jedi had been afforded their own rooms on the ship, unlike most of the workers. Maul, too, shared a bunk with Jango Fett. </p><p> </p><p>Master Jinn’s quarters were scant and bare, as a proper Jedi’s should have been. There was nothing sentimental in it. Master Jin rubbed his wounded shoulder gingerly. </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan fiddled with his sleeve cuffs and shuffled his feet. Master Jinn finally looked up at him. </p><p> </p><p>“Yes, young one?” he asked, sounding faintly amused. Obi Wan felt his neck heat up. He’d been caught. </p><p> </p><p>“What you were saying to Maul. Was it really wrong, to kill Jemba?” </p><p> </p><p>It had made perfect sense to Obi Wan. With Jemba and Grelb gone, the dactyl had been returned to Si Treemba and the other’s, and tension with Offworld had lessened enough for the entire ship to work on repairs at the same time. Was it really wrong to kill them? Maul hadn’t seemed to do it because he hated them, even though he always felt at least a little angry. It was such a foreign sensation to Obi Wan, who had been raised in the serenity of the Jedi Temple. </p><p> </p><p>“Nothing has changed,” he said at last. “Obi-Wan, can‘t you see? Killing Jemba was not the answer. Jemba was but one Hutt, as was Grelb. There are always more, just as evil and greedy as he. Even if he is dead, it won‘t stop his plan from going forward. Another like him, perhaps someone worse, will take his place. What we must do is try to teach these people that -”</p><p> </p><p>“But he is evil, isn‘t he?” Obi-Wan asked. He didn’t understand. Yes, there could be others worse than Jemba, but the arconan’s had been saved. Wasn’t one small act of good better than none? Or was the simple act of killing alone evil? Obi Wan had killed the pirates, and Master Jinn and Clat’Ha had fought them too. </p><p> </p><p>“What Jemba was trying to do was wrong,” Master Jinn answered carefully.</p><p> </p><p>“I‘ve never seen anyone who was so evil,” Obi-Wan burst out. He couldn’t keep it to himself any more. He had felt Jemba’s greed, slimy and viscous against his skin every time the hutt spoke. </p><p> </p><p>A sad smile touched Qui-Gon‘s lips. </p><p> </p><p>“And have you been so many places, young Obi Wan?”</p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan fell silent. He had much to learn. His heart cried out that Jemba was evil, and that evil had spread to enslave innocent victims. If anyone deserved to meet a bitter fate, it was the Hutt. But he would listen to Master Jinn. He was not even a Padawan. It was not his place to question a Master. </p><p> </p><p>“I‘ve seen far worse. If you think of killing in anger, you must know such thoughts come from the dark side.”</p><p> </p><p>“Then how could we make him give the dactyl back? He wouldn’t have done it willingly, not unless they agreed to be his slaves!” Obi Wan didn’t understand. How could Master Jinn not act upon the injustice? How much could he see that was beyond Obi Wan’s reach? </p><p> </p><p>“You can‘t,” Master Jinn said gravely. Obi Wan’s heart sunk. “You can‘t force people to be just and decent. Such qualities arise from within. They cannot be forced from without. For</p><p>now, I had chosen to wait. Perhaps Jemba would have a change of heart. Or perhaps some darker fate awaited him. In either case, killing was not the solution. It is not our place to pass these judgements.”</p><p> </p><p>“But . . . you‘ve killed before,” Obi Wan said hesitantly. The pirates. Their bodies were being laid outside as people came across them. Several had light saber burns across their corpses. </p><p> </p><p>“I have,” Master Jinn admitted, “when there was no other choice. But when I kill, I only win a fight. It‘s a small, small victory. There are greater battles to be won. Battles of the heart. Sometimes, with</p><p>patience and reason and by setting a good example, I have won more than a fight. I have turned my adversary into a friend.”</p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan considered this. Despite his pain and weakness Master Jinn was taking the time to explain his thoughts to Obi Wan. Only yesterday, the Jedi most likely would have issued a stern order, then dismissed him. Something had changed between them.</p><p> </p><p>“You‘re testing me, aren‘t you,” Obi Wan guessed, hope rising in his chest. “You‘ve changed</p><p>your mind! You are considering me for your Padawan.”</p><p> </p><p>He tried to keep the eagerness out of his voice.</p><p> </p><p>Master Jinn shook his head. </p><p> </p><p>“No,” he said firmly. “I‘m not testing you, Obi Wan.nLife tests you! Every day it brings you new chances for triumph or defeat. And if you pass the test, it doesn‘t make you a Jedi. It makes you human.”</p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan stepped back, as if he’d slapped him. With a rush of sorrow and hurt, he saw into his own heart. He had been fooling himself. He had told himself that he had accepted Qui-Gon‘s decision, that all he wanted was his respect. But somewhere deep inside, he had hoped that if he acted bravely and well on this mission, Master Jinn would change his mind.</p><p> </p><p>Now he saw the truth.</p><p> </p><p>There was no hope for his future. Master Jinn had truly made his decision and he could not be swayed. Obi Wan was too full of anger, and too impulsive. </p><p> </p><p>He would have killed Jemba if he could have. Did he really think it was right, or was that just the lure of the Darkside? </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan felt like he was choking. His eyes stung and he turned quickly to hide himself from Master Jinn. He would not let the Master see his deep shame. He’d been such a fool. </p><p> </p><p>No wonder no one wanted him. He didn’t even know himself. How could he know the Will of the Force? </p><p> </p><p>He could never be a jedi. </p><p> </p><p>All his anger flowed out of him, but not into the Force like it should have if he was a real Jedi. It left him like air in his lungs, and he felt light and shaky with its disappearance, for all that came back was hollow grief and guilt.</p><p> </p><p>Grief for the life he would never live. Guilt for wasting the time of so many Masters in his desperate quest to be allowed to stay with the Jedi. How could he? </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan swallowed twice to clear his dry throat and wiped the tears and sweat from his face before he faced Master Jinn and bowed swiftly. </p><p> </p><p>“I’ll let you rest, then,” he said quietly. His voice didn’t shake. He wouldn't let it. </p><p> </p><p>He left the cabin in a daze. He needed rest, but he could not seem to find it anywhere. He tried his cabin, then the lounge. At last he wandered the hall aimlessly. He ended up near the engine rooms, staring out at the wasteland of the unnamed planet. It felt strange there. Hot and bitter and dry. Like a desert, or what Obi Wan assumed they felt like. He had never been to one. </p><p> </p><p>Here there was the remnants of a great anger. Had their been a battle in the engine room? </p><p> </p><p>Whatever there was, he found solace in the quiet. The engines had been turned off while the teams worked to repair the ship, the lights were left off, and through the hatch they’d opened to have access he could see the sky. Five moons, in shades of red and blue, hung like ripe fruits out over a silent ocean. A flight of draigons hovered high in the air, asleep on the wing. The island shore was nothing more than a treacherous bit of wave carved rock, with smatterings of sand.</p><p> </p><p>Farther inland, dark volcanic peaks vented steam, and there draigons perched by the hundreds. A door hissed open behind him. </p><p> </p><p>A moment later, Maul appeared by his side. The smaller boy had most of his head covered by his hood, as was his norm, but from Obi Wan’s vantage point on the floor he could see the dark red and black patterns on his skin. </p><p> </p><p>“What are you doing here, little Jedi? It’s too dark in here for you.” Maul’s voice was gruff. Obi Wan wondered where he had been during the fight. Had he killed, with the deadly aim he used on the hutts? He hadn’t hesitated at all, and he talked back to Master Jinn without hesitation. </p><p> </p><p>Of course, it was as Maul said. He wasn’t a Jedi, and Master Jinn had no say in his actions. </p><p> </p><p>Master Jinn didn’t seem fond of Maul or his caretaker, Jango. Obi Wan couldn’t tell if the Mandalorian was his father, or relative, or just his caretaker. </p><p> </p><p>“I needed to think,” Obi Wan answered. He was glad to see his friend. Maul didn’t mince words, and he was abrasive in some ways. Anger always radiated off of him faintly, but Obi Wan had gotten used to that. Maul wasn’t a Jedi, so he was allowed his emotions. </p><p> </p><p>“And what has your thinking done, besides turn your face red?” </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan startled. Maul could see him that well in the dark? </p><p> </p><p>His eyes did glow, faint gold in the shadow of his hood. It reminded Obi Wan of the lightsabers that the Temple Guard wielded. </p><p> </p><p>“I thought that my time in the Temple was hard in many ways,” Obi Wan said slowly, picking his words. It felt odd to say his thoughts out loud.  “The days were filled with study and effort. The very best was expected of us. I respected my teachers so much, and I thought I knew what I needed not only to survive, but to excel.”</p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan took a breath. His hands were shaking.  </p><p> </p><p>“Now I see that I had no idea what kind of evil the universe could show me. I‘ve never seen real greed before, not like the greed of the pirates or Jemba. It sickens me.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul grunted at him, so Obi Wan continued. </p><p> </p><p>“Now I am wondering . . . do I have the seeds of the same greed?” Master Jinn must have seen some in him. It had to have been greed that drove him to try, over and over, to find a Master to take him even when he knew he was being assigned to the Agri-Corps. Greed, for status and knowledge. And fear. Obi Wan didn’t want to be sent away. He didn’t want to say goodbye to all his friends! </p><p> </p><p>Maul stared at him in the dark. Obi Wan got the distinct impression that he was unimpressed. Of course he would be. Obi wan had seen the scars on his hands, when they’d eaten together and he’d taken his gloves off. He knew that he’d been injured recently when pangs of pain came through the Force if he moved certain ways. Maul had had a hard life, and here Obi Wan was, crying because he did not get what he wanted. </p><p> </p><p>He couldn’t seem to stop talking. </p><p> </p><p>“All my life, I‘ve wanted to be a Jedi. I craved it so much. I was willing to fight for the honor, and I became angry when others stood in my way.” </p><p> </p><p>“And this is a bad thing,” Maul said slowly.  </p><p> </p><p>Obi-Wan nodded, still looking out at the dark sea.</p><p> </p><p>He felt a deep longing to be home, back at the Temple, where things had clarity and purpose. Here, he felt lost. </p><p> </p><p>“It will be light in a few hours. You have done so much for me already. You helped us with the thermocom. You fought for us with Jemba. But will you help me one last time?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul eyed him wearily. </p><p> </p><p>“That would depend on what you require of me.” </p><p> </p><p>“Help me overcome my anger,” Obi Wan said. His fingers were curled into fists. He looked down at them and uncurled them. Maul always seemed so angry, but when he acted it was not impulsive or brash. Obi Wan had seem him watch the room where the brief fight with the hutts went down. He’d been perfectly calm the entire time. </p><p> </p><p>Maul choked beside him, and wide yellow eyes snapped to Obi Wan. He struggled to explain himself quickly. </p><p> </p><p>“I feel such rage toward Jemba, even now that he is dead. He wanted  to use other people for his own game, and I wanted to kill him for that. But I don‘t like the way I feel right now,” Obi Wan’s voice cracked. “Master Jinn  was <em> right </em> . If I had tried to stop Jemba, I would be doing so only to satisfy my own rage.” <br/><br/></p><p>“... What brought this on?” Maul asked at last. His voice sounded tight. </p><p> </p><p>“Something has just happened,” Obi wan told him quietly. “I just realized something. Master Jinn will never take me as a Padawan. He feels I am unworthy, and perhaps he is right. Maybe I wouldn‘t be good at it.”</p><p> </p><p>“This is not what you’re angry about. You are not angry with Qui Gon Jinn,” Maul observed. He must truly have good night vision, to see that on Obi Wan’s face. Maul was preceptive. </p><p><br/>Obi Wan shook his head. </p><p> </p><p>“I feel… light. And lost, too. It‘s as if a burden has been lifted from me, and someone has thrown me into that ocean. Perhaps I could be a good farmer. And to be good . . . to be a good person is more important than being a Jedi.”</p><p> </p><p>“I don’t see why you can’t be both,” Maul said slowly, “There is nothing wrong with anger.” </p><p> </p><p>“Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to the Darkside.” Obi Wan paused. Maul was no Jedi. “The Darkside is a different part of the Force, what we- what Jedi use for our powers,” he clarified. “Jedi use the Lightside. To use the Darkside is a grave offense. So we must let go of our anger, lest it control us and lead us down that path.” </p><p> </p><p>For some reason, Maul laughed. It was a starling, grating sound, like it wasn’t used often. </p><p> </p><p>“Little Jedi,” Maul said with a shake of his head. “You could never use the Darkside, no matter how angry you got. Trust me on this.” </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan opened his mouth to ask what he meant, but Maul held up a hand, shadowy and vague in the darkness. </p><p> </p><p>“I cannot help you let go of your anger. That is a Jedi trick. I always have anger inside of me, but I do not let it control me. My anger, my rage, my hate. It does not use me to do its bidding. I use it to sharpen my senses and make me stronger, faster, and more durable if I must. On sheer spite I have fought with shattered ribs and a dislocated hip, and still come out on top.”   </p><p> </p><p>“But, you’re so young!” Obi Wan was horrified. He knew Maul had had a difficult life, but that- </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not as young as I look,” Maul scowled at him. “And you are the one who asked. I can’t help you over come anything. Do you want to learn to use it? To make yourself stronger? That I can teach you.” </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan bowed his head. </p><p> </p><p>Maul had looked perfectly at ease in the brief battle. He’d seemed utterly unafraid with a dozen blasters trained on him. In some ways, Obi Wan did want that. He wanted to be able to do what was right, and he still thought that Maul had done that, even if Master Jinn disagreed. </p><p> </p><p>Still. </p><p> </p><p>To hold onto anger, and use it to make yourself stronger… Obi Wan didn’t know that he could do that. His temper had already gotten the best of him so many times. It was what had landed him on this ship in the first place. </p><p> </p><p>So lightly Obi Wan thought he was imagining it, Maul’s hand touched his shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>“Think on it. I’ll be with Jango.” </p><p> </p><p>Something brushed against Obi Wan’s shields. A phantom touch, barely there and gone so fast Obi Wan thought he’d imagined it. </p><p> </p><p>His head snapped around to watch Maul disappear through the doors again, no more than a shadow in the dark. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Both of these boys make me so sad. Send help.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. By Stormlight</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I meant to post this on Saturday, but I got impatient lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Maul was getting seriously sick of this Force Forsaken journey to Bandomeer. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m beginning to think that you’re cursed,” he told Kenobi faintly. Even on his most dangerous missions for Sidious few things had gone so randomly wrong. What did go wrong was planned to test his abilities. This was just testing his patience. </p><p> </p><p>“I’m not sure you’re wrong,” Kenobi smiled grimly and swung his ‘saber down to slice through the draigon that got too close. It fell with a shriek. </p><p> </p><p>Something had stirred them into a frenzy, Maul thought it might have been a whiphid or one of the few remaining hutts with Offworld, and the whole flock had descended onto the cave that the <em> Monument </em> passengers had decided to shelter inside of. The tide had swallowed the ship and a storm had opened the skies above them with water and lightning. Thunder crashed through the skies. </p><p> </p><p>Kenobi, Maul, Jinn, and Fett stood at the mouth of the cave, shooting and striking down each draigon that came too close. Further in the whiphids and humans with blasters sheltered, ready to shoot any that managed to get past the quartet. The arconan’s were further inside, singing a long, mournful song in their strange hissing language. </p><p> </p><p>It made Maul’s skin sprickle and his heart race. There was something mystical in their singing, a shadow of stone and darkness. It felt familiar some how, and foreign in the same turn. </p><p> </p><p>“Eyes on the draigons, boys!” Jango called loudly over the roar of the storm and the blaster fire. He shot twice, one hit a draigon in the chest, and another through the wing. Jinn drove his ‘saber through its head to finish it off. They may have been natural enemies, but Maul would be lying if he said they did not make an effective team. </p><p> </p><p>Maul huffed and lifted his blaster to shoot another draigon through the head. Maybe it was suspicious that every one of his shots was a headshot, but there were too many of the beasts for him to consider that right then. Jinn was thrown violently back into the cavern by a massive wing. </p><p> </p><p>
  <em> Useless Jedi.  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>His irritation at their circumstances only fueled his anger, and each passing moment his accuracy increased with the Force. </p><p> </p><p>Maul had come too far to let himself be killed by animals on a nameless, backwater planet surrounded by jedi! Maul’s will to live had kept him going through being cut in half, driven to madness, and losing his only brother. It had kept him going through the rise of the Empire and the years that came after. He would survive these creatures too. </p><p> </p><p>That didn’t change the unsettling fact that he was fighting side by side with someone he had spent half a lifetime trying to kill. </p><p> </p><p> They moved together, Kenobi cutting while Maul fired upon their assailants. More and more draigon corpses were piling up in front of them, preparing to block the entrance of the cave they sheltered in. That was the plan, but it was growing harder to fight with the closed spaces too. </p><p> </p><p>Maul fired furiously, anger coursing through his veins and burning through him just as surely as a the blaster bolts burned through the dragons. His crystals hummed at his hip, hot and burning against his skin. </p><p> </p><p>By his side Kenobi was ice, his blue ‘saber cutting cleanly. There was no anger from him, nor hate for the draigons. There wasn’t even fear. Only a heavy sense of duty and necessity. Through teeth and claws there was only survival. </p><p> </p><p>The Force twisted around the pair. They were light and dark, united by the simple goal that all living beings shared. </p><p> </p><p>Survive. </p><p> </p><p>Maul was good at that if nothing else. They both were. Apparently Kenobi had almost as much experience as he. Or he would, eventually. </p><p> </p><p>At this rate it was almost certain. </p><p> </p><p>They had to start new fights several times. Sometimes Jinn was with them, sometimes he was not. Each cave entrance had to be defended, and when those became scarce the draigon’s tried to dig their own. Those they left to the miners, who knew rock like no other. Clat’Ha joined and vanished at times. Jinn disappeared so long Maul thought he might be dead. </p><p> </p><p>Once or twice it was only Maul and Kenobi. Sometimes it was just Maul and Jango. Once it was Maul and Clat’Ha, who was a decent shot herself. </p><p> </p><p>The Darkside curled around Maul’s hands, guiding his blaster where it needed to go. With each small victory he grew stronger. </p><p> </p><p>Maul lost track of how long they fought, he and Kenobi. </p><p> </p><p>Jinn wasn’t dead, but he only reappeared to Maul by the time pink light was spilling through the last of the cave openings not blocked by draigon bodied. </p><p> </p><p>By that point they could scarcely see what was happening beyond the piled up bodies of draigons, but when the last of their enemies fled violet dusk lit up what little of the cave it could reach. </p><p> </p><p>Night had come, and the draigon’s were done. </p><p> </p><p>By then it was evident even to Maul that the arconans were not the cowards he had assumed. They took the path of least resistance when it came to saving their own lives, but they fought when they had to. They were creatures born to caves and darkness, and when it came to time to fight in their own element, they proved themselves to be ferocious and cunning.</p><p> </p><p>No draigon that tunneled through a cave‘s roof caught an Arconan by surprise. Maul could respect that much. </p><p> </p><p>Smoke rose from the draigons‘ mouths as they let out their piercing cries in the dusky air. But the cries had changed from war cries to signals. Maul let out a breath. What were they-  </p><p> </p><p>Without warning what was left of the flock roared and leaped into the sky, their wings beating viciously through the air. The draigons circled the island twice in a horrible flock, then flew off in defeat. They were down over half their members. </p><p> </p><p>Maul watched them go. Slowly, the roaring in his ears started to fade and he slumped onto the stone. His blaster was loose in his hand and hot to the touch. Jango sat heavily beside him with a dull clang of beskar. </p><p> </p><p>A ragged cheer went up from the surviving Offworlders, whiphids and humans shouting and crying fat tears of relief and joy. Maul watched one of the great whiphids make his way over to Kenobi and smack him hard on the back. He laughed about something, apparently oblivious to the fact that he’d nearly knocked Kenobi over completely. Other’s started clapping, and laughing. </p><p> </p><p>Maul scoffed quietly. Their former enemies cheered for the Jedi, while he and Jango sat in the shadows. It was only when the battle fire was fading from his veins that he realized he’d been slashed across the forearm at some point. It bled sluggishly, not cauterized like a blaster bolt or lightsaber would have left it. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t know where you came from, but I am glad I found you,” Jango said quietly. </p><p> </p><p>Maul elbowed him. It didn’t do much against the beskar. </p><p> </p><p>“You talk too much, old man.” </p><p> </p><p>“I’m twenty two!” </p><p> </p><p>Maul nearly choked. Twenty two?! He would have put money on Jango being older than that. </p><p> </p><p>“... Right. Old man.” </p><p> </p><p>“Can’t you call me something else?” </p><p> </p><p>“Like what? <em> Buir </em>?”  Maul eyed him speculatively. </p><p> </p><p>Jango tilted his head. “I would like it if you called me that.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul hunched his shoulders. “You’re still on about that?” </p><p> </p><p>“On about it? Did you think I was joking about wanting you for my <em> ad? </em>” Jango asked, turning his visor towards Maul. After a moment, he pulled the helmet off entirely to lay it on a rock nearby. The blue paint was chipped. </p><p> </p><p>His dark hair was sweaty and stuck plastered to his skull, and he could use a good shave. </p><p> </p><p>He looked the same age as most clones did during their war. </p><p> </p><p>Maul touched the pocket that held his crystals, idly. They were warm under his touch. A small comfort. </p><p> </p><p>“I don’t see why you wouldn’t be. You barely know me. And I have tried to kill you at least once.” </p><p> </p><p>“Maul,” Jango said slowly, looking amused and saddened all at once, “You leak mandokarla like a broken faucet. Any Mandalorian in their right mind would want you in their <em> aliit </em>. Their family.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul studiously ignored the way his skin heated up. </p><p> </p><p>Without the helmet getting in the way and muffling his emotions, Jango was practically projecting affection and hope towards Maul. It made him dizzy. </p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t like the fondness of Kilindi and Daleen, or protective care of Savage. It wasn’t the loyalty that came with Kast and Saxxon. </p><p> </p><p>Maul’s head spun. </p><p> </p><p>He looked at the dead draigons. Some heads still steamed faintly with blaster bolts. The night had fallen, bringing with it the safety of the darkness that wrapped around Maul in a familiar cloak of safety. </p><p> </p><p>“You barely know anything about me. You don’t even know where I’m from.” </p><p> </p><p>“You don’t know where I’m from either,” Jango pointed out. He angled his body towards Maul. “I was born on Concord Dawn, in the Mandalorian sector.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul’s gaze flicked up to Jango’s. He was waiting, patiently. His brown eyes were impossibly warm. His pupils were wide in the dark. Humans couldn’t see as well as he could, but Jango didn’t look away for a minute. </p><p> </p><p>Finally, Maul swallowed. </p><p> </p><p>“... I was born on Dathomir. In the Quelli sector.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul didn’t know why it felt like he was giving up so much. It was easy information. He was clearly a Nightbrother to anyone who knew how to look for it, even if his tattoos were technically Sith in origin. If Maul focused long enough he could feel them hum faintly with the Darkside. </p><p> </p><p>Jango smiled at him. </p><p> </p><p>“<em> Su cuy’gar, </em>Maul of Dathomir.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul nodded at him reluctantly. </p><p> </p><p>Slowly, the arconan’s humming a song of grief, everyone made their way out of the caves. Maul stopped by one of the felled draigons and ripped three of its razor teeth out of its head. The water was already receding. The ship, already sealed up, was still where they had left it. Soon they would be off this damnedable planet, and then- </p><p> </p><p>Well. </p><p> </p><p>Maul didn’t really know what was going to happen then. </p><p> </p><p>He picked his way down the cliffside with Jango at one side and the five moons shining down upon him. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon was glad to be rid of the planet of the draigons and the sea. </p><p> </p><p>They were only a short hyperspace jump to Bandomeer from here, barely an hour at most, and the ship was completely repaired. As much as one like the <em> Monument </em> ever was, in any case. There were still missing wall panels, and lights tended to flicker in the kitchens. Even with the assistance of the Mandalorian and his young charge, a child called <em> Maul </em>of all  things,  losses had been heavy. The arconans and the Offworld company had lost much, a good percentage of their people, and Clat’Ha had used the situation to buy the contracts of the Offworlders from the human who had taken command of them after Jemba and Grelb’s deaths. Now they were free. So some good had come of the bloody business, he supposed. </p><p> </p><p>Clat’Ha was courageous, and a pragmatist in her own way. She had Qui Gon’s respect, even if he didn’t like all the company she kept. She was the one who had invited the Mandalorian, Fett, along for the ride. There was bad blood between Jedi and Mandalorians, especially after what had happened on Galidraan. </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon hadn’t heard the full story before he’d left, and what he had heard was certain to be gossip, but he knew his former Master and sister Padawan had been present for the incident. Qui Gon hadn’t spoken to them much after he’d renounced his own Padawans in their entirety, both Xanatos and Feemor. Perhaps it was time to change that. </p><p> </p><p>It might do good to be more aware of incidents where Senate information was faulty and Jedi were nearly massacred. </p><p> </p><p>Qui gon sighed. He needed to meditate on the matter, but he didn’t have much time right then. </p><p> </p><p>It had been a long journey, even for him, but more so for Obi Wan. </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon knew when to admit he had been wrong. He had underestimated Obi Wan Kenobi.</p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon looked outside of the ship to take a last look at the great sea that swallowed most of the planet. He needed a moment to consider all that had happened.</p><p> </p><p>The surf pounded the rocks beneath them as he gazed at the planet‘s five multi-colored moons, already beginning to dim with the rising light. They had seemed smaller from the surface, but the <em> Monument </em>would pass by one of the blue ones on their way out of orbit. He was glad not to be able to see the cave where so much death had occurred from here. They had had to climb across so many dead to get free of the caverns. The joy of surviving had been swiftly squelched with the reminder of what they’d had to do to win their lives. The crash landing was a horrible accident, as most of the crew saw it. </p><p> </p><p>A Jedi saw it differently. </p><p> </p><p><em> “By chance alone we do not live our lives.” </em> Yoda had told him, barely three short days ago in the temple he called home. He’d been upset with Qui Gon for not taking on a Padawan, even though he had refused all other options since Xanatos- Well.</p><p> </p><p>
  <em> “If take an apprentice you will not, then, in time, perhaps fate will choose for you. Hmm?” </em>
</p><p> </p><p>At the time it had sounded more like a threat than anything else. </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon still wasn‘t sure if fate had appointed Obi Wan as his Padawan, or if it had just thrown them together for one odd adventure.</p><p> </p><p>He‘d thought it coincidence that both he and Obi Wan were going to Bandomeer. After all, Yoda had sent the boy to Bandomeer, while Qui Gon‘s orders come from the Senate. From the Supreme Chancellor himself, in fact. There was no way that Yoda and the Supreme Chancellor could have plotted this together. Right? Qui Gon didn’t think the Supreme Chancellor was even very familiar with the Grand Master of the Jedi Order. </p><p> </p><p>But here they were.</p><p> </p><p>Both of them were going to Bandomeer, and Qui-Gon had an uneasy feeling about this assignment.</p><p> </p><p>And there was a further matter. It was not a simple thing for one Jedi to touch the mind of another. It was an intimate thing, the kind of thing usually only done between the closest friends. </p><p> </p><p>Or between a Knight and his Padawan.</p><p> </p><p>For the first time in a long while, Qui-Gon didn‘t know what to do.</p><p> </p><p><em> “When the path is unsure, better to wait, it is,” </em>Yoda had told him many times.</p><p> </p><p>Now he would use Yoda‘s advice, even though he suspected Yoda would want him to take the opposite position. He would not ask Obi Wan to be his Padawan. He would wait and trust in the Force to guide him forwards.</p><p> </p><p>And he would watch. They had separate missions on Bandomeer, but he would keep any eyes on Obi Wan. One mission was not enough to test the boy. There would be more to come. Only then would Qui Gon be able to tell how true Obi Wan was to his Jedi purpose. Bandomeer would test him, for Obi Wan was unhappy with the mission he‘d received. Would he accept his position as a famer with the grace and dignity of a true Jedi? Or was he only a dreamer of glory? </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon smiled. He had to admit, the boy was no farmer. He was meant for different things. But whether his path would intersect with Qui Gon‘s, he still didn‘t know.</p><p> </p><p>Until he did, he would not choose. The boy would have to be strong to dispel the shadow of the one who had come before. And Xanatos cast a long, deep shadow across Qui Gon’s very being.</p><p> </p><p>Xanatos was not the only one casting a shadow on this voyage. </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon’s smile vanished. </p><p> </p><p>The Mandalorian’s charge, Maul. </p><p> </p><p>He unnerved Qui Gon. </p><p> </p><p>It was not just the way he had killed without hesitation or remorse, nor the way his accuracy seemed super human. Zabraks were known to be warriors, Master Eeth Koth was proof enough of that, and he was being escorted by a Mandalorian of all creatures. If it was anyone else Qui Gon might have feared for his safety. </p><p> </p><p>Clat’Ha said that the child was something called a ‘Foundling’, and that he was safe with Mandalorians. Qui Gon was not so sure, but he got the distinct feeling that Maul was not fond of him. A shame, Qui Gon was normally quite good with younglings. </p><p> </p><p>While the matter of killing Jemba and Grelb was not one to take lightly, there was something unsettling about Maul besides that. He looked at the world with the eyes of one used to combat, and he didn’t flinch even when he’d been injured fighting the Draigons. He spoke harshly to Qui Gon in a way that he had never had a child do. Jedi children were taught better manners, and how to respect Masters.</p><p> </p><p>When they’d fought at the mouths of the caves Qui Gon’s mind had touched Obi Wan’s. The boy did not fight with fear or anger in his heart. He had already accepted that he might die, and that he was only doing what must be done. </p><p> </p><p>Yet there was something more. </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon had barely been able to feel it, so steeped was it in the swirling fear and rage of the miners, but he swore he felt the whisper of the Darkside from Maul. </p><p> </p><p>It was not unheard of for Jedi Seekers to miss Force Sensitive children. They did their best, but they were not infallible. Sometimes those children grew to use passive abilities. Untrained they might have quicker reflexes, or strong intuition, but little more than that, and that too faded with age. </p><p> </p><p>Maul couldn’t be older than ten, by Qui Gon’s estimate. He would grow out of his powers, if he did not train them. </p><p> </p><p>It was probably better that way. </p><p> </p><p>The boy had already touched the Darkside. He was angry and unafraid to kill if it seemed like the easiest move to make. He had no patience and he looked ready to stab a man if given a moment provocation. </p><p> </p><p>A worrisome being, to be sure. </p><p> </p><p>Perhaps if that were not the case Qui Gon would consider taking him back to the temple, if only so the council could decide what to do with a dangerous Force sensitive child like him. Yet, the idea of bringing him back to the Temple filled Qui Gon with uncertainty and fear. </p><p> </p><p>He let those emotions go into the Force, and sought clarity, but none came. </p><p> </p><p>Nothing was certain with Maul. It was like a thick mist floated around his future. </p><p> </p><p>While one Bandomeer, Qui Gon would try to keep an eye on Maul, and on young Obi Wan as well. </p><p> </p><p>He had a feeling the fate would give him no other choice.</p><p> </p><p>With that settled Qui Gon turned away from the window just as they made their jump into hyperspace. The ship shuddered faintly and lurched but the repairs held all the same. The <em> Monument </em>was stubborn. </p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon walked through the labyrinth of the ship‘s corridors until he reached Obi Wan‘s cabin. He knocked on the door twice. He could sense the boy inside. </p><p> </p><p>“Come in,” Obi Wan called.</p><p> </p><p>The boy was sitting cross-legged on the bed, staring out at the blurred stars of hyperspace. It was hypnotic, in its way. </p><p> </p><p>“I‘ll be glad to leave this place,” Obi Wan said by way of greeting. “I saw too much death here.”</p><p> </p><p>His gaze fell from the window to his hands in his lap. </p><p> </p><p>“You did well,” Qui Gon said kindly. “I felt the Force move in you.”</p><p> </p><p>“It was . . . astonishing,” Obi Wan said quietly. It was disheartening to realize that only a few short days ago any praise from Qui Gon would have been enough to have the boy beaming with excitement. Now he only looked mildly pleased. “I thought I understood its power. But I see that I had only glimpsed one corner of what it could do. For years, I thought myself worthy of it. But it was not until I recognized my own unworthiness that the power began to fill me.” Obi Wan turned to Qui Gon. His eyes searched his face. “Do you know what I mean?”</p><p> </p><p>Qui Gon smiled. </p><p> </p><p>“You are learning. And yes, I know what you mean.”</p><p> </p><p>Silence grew between them, but it was a comfortable silence. Always before, Qui Gon could almost hear the pleading Obi Wan was holding back. Now he felt only acceptance of Qui Gon‘s feelings, and his own fate.</p><p> </p><p>Another victory for the boy. He was impressed.</p><p> </p><p>“We should reach our destination very soon,” Qui-Gon remarked. “I fear there will be nasty business on Bandomeer.”</p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan met his gaze. His once bright blue eyes were dark and troubled. Yet underneath it, Qui Gon sensed his strength.</p><p> </p><p>“I know,” Obi-Wan said. “I feel it, too.”</p><p> </p><p>“When we get there you should be careful,” Qui Gon warned. “Careful of your work, and careful of your friends, too.” </p><p> </p><p>The boy, Maul, could be trouble. </p><p> </p><p>Yet Qui Gon had faith that the Force would decide what to do with him. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Alright y'all! We've got two more chapter's for Bandomeer, Jango and Qui Gon conflict, plus Maul's mystery pet. So far I've got three votes for Jango's 2 for 1 space wizard sons, and one vote for Obi Wan to be a jedi still. </p><p>Thank everyone for your comments, they're genuinely why I write! I don't get paid for this, but compliments are worth as much as cash lol</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Blunting Teeth</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Bandomeer was a curious place. </p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t like a lot of industrialized planets. There were thick stretches of barren land where the miners had stripped the world of everything green and living, but in that same turn there were thick forests that would choke out any crop that came near it. The cities were smog filled, and the natives were outnumbered by foreign workers on their planet. </p><p> </p><p>It was a world of minerals and richness, and it had been stripped from its local populace in the expansion of huge mining corporations. Most of the food was shipped in from off planet, and most of the work was the same. The planet could have been rich if it hadn’t been taken advantage of in its infancy, but now it was in constant threat from outside forces and was at the mercy of its trading partners and corporations. </p><p> </p><p>Jango had initially wanted Maul to stay in their apartments in Bando, the capital city, but Maul would not be left behind. The Force insisted that something interesting would happen at the meeting, and Maul wanted to see what was interesting enough for the Force to push him to stay near a Jedi he was growing irritated with. . </p><p> </p><p>In the end Jango had sighed, but agreed to let Maul come along so long as he stayed out of the way and didn’t cause trouble. </p><p> </p><p>Maul tried to look innocent, but it was ruined by the fact that he was literally covered in darkness and had wreaked carnage not a full day before. </p><p> </p><p>Jango was unaffected, but Maul got what he wanted anyways. </p><p> </p><p>It meant that while Clat’Ha sat a table with Jinn, while a local called SonTag tapped impatiently at the metal surface Maul and Jango stayed in the corner, a body guard and small shadow at his side. Maul kept an eye on of the windows that showed the city skyline, and another on the vent. They were just barely too small for even him to fit in, so he wasn’t worried about anything physical coming through them. </p><p> </p><p>Whatever the Force was warning him about, it wasn’t coming from there. </p><p> </p><p>While the miners were trying to figure out if an Offworld representative was even coming, and how much longer they should wait for them, Maul worked with his blaster. </p><p> </p><p>It wasn’t the same one that Jango had managed to procure for him on Coruscant. </p><p> </p><p>As soon as they’re reached the planet yesterday Maul had practically dragged Fett to the nearest row of weapons dealers. </p><p> </p><p>Bandomeer was home to a lot of miners, and a lot of violence it seemed. It was very easy to find the bare bones that he needed and all of the other components. To someone who didn’t know what he was doing everything looked entirely random. </p><p> </p><p>Still, Jango turned over the credits for all of the components. If Maul ‘suggested’ that some of the prices be lowered, no one needed to worry about it. </p><p> </p><p>Since then he’d been working diligently on his creation. </p><p> </p><p>He was securing the last of the vortex rings and coupling the trigger rig to the power emitter when the doors finally slid open. </p><p> </p><p>Maul glanced up to see Jinn frozen in his seat, his gaze fixed on the door and the young human man that strode through it. He was handsome as far as humans went, and dressed in finery. His shiny black cape was lined in a blue so deep it was almost black as well.</p><p> </p><p>A broken circle scar marked his cheek.</p><p> </p><p>Jinn’s gaze locked with the intruder's. The moment hung suspended in the air. Maul’s skin prickled. They knew each other, that was clear, but the tension that radiated from Jinn told Maul that they had not met on good terms before. </p><p> </p><p>Abruptly the new comer broke into a delighted grin.</p><p> </p><p>"Old friend! So you are here. I hardly dared to hope." The human strode forward, handsome and commanding. He wore carisma as he wore his cape. While he seemed delighted, Jinn was completely off balance. </p><p> </p><p>His black hair flowed to his shoulders, and his dark blue eyes matched the lining on his cape. He gave the Meerian sign of greeting to SonTag, his hands turned palm up towards her, before he bowed abruptly. Jango was tense as Maul’s side. Maul understood. For all his easy smile there was something about him that Maul didn’t trust. </p><p> </p><p>"Governor, I must apologize for my lateness. My transport was held up in an ion storm. Nothing was more important to me than getting here on time. I am Xanatos, the representative of Offworld."</p><p> </p><p>SonTag greeted him, palms up. "I see that you already know Qui Gon."</p><p> </p><p>"Yes, I have had that good fortune. But I haven't seen him in many years." Xanatos turned to Jinn and bowed again.</p><p> </p><p>Jinn eyed him, but still managed to look as neutral as possible. </p><p> </p><p>"I got your message on my arrival," he said neutrally. Maul frowned. He hated missing pieces to what was going on around him. What message?</p><p> </p><p>"Yes, I had heard you were dispatched from Coruscant," Xanatos answered. "Since I had just been appointed Offworld's representative, I knew we would meet. Nothing gave me more satisfaction."</p><p> </p><p>There was nothing but sincerity in what he said, but it was the way he picked his words that made Maul frown. He twisted his jack wrench sharply and sealed the trigger mechanism. Almost done. </p><p> </p><p>"I see you mistrust me," Xanatos said. He sounded mournful, and his dark blue eyes were carefully fixed on Jinn. What was Jedi and blue eyes? Kenobi, Skywalker, Tano, and Maul suspected Xanatos. A jedi who’d left the order, perhaps?</p><p> </p><p>"Your sense of caution hasn't changed. But surely other Jedi apprentices have left the path of the Jedi without your mistrust?"</p><p> </p><p>Ah. A washed out Padawan then. Maul tried not to snort. If a sith failed, they simply died. </p><p> </p><p>"Every apprentice is free to leave at any time. You know that," Jinn said evenly. "If they leave honorably, there is no mistrust."</p><p> </p><p>Jango tilted his visor towards them. His shoulders turned inwards. Maul could tell he was paying very close attention to what was happening before him. </p><p> </p><p>"And so I left. It was best for me, and for the Jedi," Xanatos said quietly. There was a sliver of grief in the air.  "I failed to lead that life. Yet it isn't a source of regret. I was not meant to lead the life of a Jedi." </p><p> </p><p>Suddenly, he flashed a smile at SonTag, Clat'Ha, and VeerTa. His gaze darted at last to Jango, but skipped right over Maul. </p><p> </p><p>"I value my training as a Jedi, but it didn't prepare me for the shock of reentry. I must confess that I went astray for a few years. That's the last time that Qui-Gon knew me."</p><p> </p><p><em> Astray? </em> Maul wondered. Had he started smoking death sticks, gotten married, or tried to take over a planet? Jedi values meant it could be anything. </p><p> </p><p>"But I've changed. Offworld has given me that chance." Xanatos leaned forward, his gaze on VeerTa. "That's why I admire you, VeerTa. Offworld sent me to tell you that the company will not interfere with your project. A richer, more secure, Bandomeer is better for all of us." Xanatos touched his chest. "I admire your leadership, because I love my home planet, too. Telos is always in my heart."</p><p> </p><p>Telos. What did Maul know about Telos? It was once attacked by Darth Nihilis during the first jedi purge. It was strong in the Force. There were sacred sites on the planet for the Jedi. </p><p> </p><p>That was about it. </p><p> </p><p>Xanatos turned to SonTag. "Perhaps if Offworld donated ten percent of its profits to the Bandomeer reclamation effort, it would convince you of our sincerity?"</p><p> </p><p>Maul nearly whistled. SonTag looked startled, but pleased. Clat’Ha was clearly still suspicious, as she should have been. </p><p> </p><p>Xanatos seemed to pick up on Clat'Ha's mistrust. He turned his penetrating blue gaze on her. "When I took my position with Offworld, it was with the understanding that certain policies would change. I do not believe in plundering planets and leaving them behind when we have gotten everything out that we want. Our actions on Bandomeer will be the first demonstration of our new policy."</p><p> </p><p>SonTag nodded. "It's a wise course. And Bandomeer will be grateful for your help -"</p><p> </p><p>Suddenly a huge explosion rocked the room. VeerTa was knocked to the floor.</p><p> </p><p>They group scrambled to looked out the window, where a mining platform was falling to the ground. Smoke curled ominously over it. </p><p> </p><p>Maybe it wasn’t Kenobi that was cursed. Maybe it was Jinn. </p><p> </p><p>This was getting ridiculous. </p><p> </p><p>Jango grabbed Maul’s shoulder abruptly. </p><p> </p><p>“Go find Kenobi,” he ordered suddenly. “We’ll go check that out. Make sure your friend is safe.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul tore from his grasp and darted out of the room. He was halfway to the ground when he realized he hadn’t told Jango that Kenobi wasn’t his friend. </p><p> </p><p>He would correct him later. </p><p> </p><p>Maul wasn’t the only one running when he hit the streets. Most of the population was either going towards or away from the Home Planet Mine. Maul had to stop in the streets to catch his breath and tilt his head. He had to focus hard, but he could feel Kenobi distantly. He was a bright light on the planet, one of only two. Kenobi and Jinn were the only Jedi there. It made it easy for him to start towards the AgriCorps dome where Kenobi’s light shone. </p><p> </p><p>Maul froze, gripping a speeder bike no one would miss in the confusion. </p><p> </p><p>Kenobi and Jinn were the <em> only </em>Jedi on the planet. He couldn’t sense a light from Xanatos. </p><p> </p><p>Maul looked back over his shoulder at the meeting building he’d come from. </p><p> </p><p>Well wasn’t that interesting? </p><p> </p><p>Maul shook his head. He’d poke around about Xanatos later. He swung his leg over the speeder bike and turned it towards the dome in the distance. They probably didn’t even know about the explosion, but Jango seemed to understand what Maul did. </p><p> </p><p>Kenobi was very good at getting himself into trouble. </p><p> </p><p>Maul made sure his blaster was secure against his hip. It wasn’t ready to fire yet, but he was getting closer. If a fight broke out he’d have to work with just a knife in his boot. </p><p> </p><p>Maul used goggles to secure his hood to his head and sped towards where he knew Kenobi’s bright light was. The dusty land scape of Bandomeer left long clouds behind him. </p><p> </p><p>When he reached the dome he walked inside unhindered. </p><p> </p><p>The Force was stronger here. It took Maul a good few minutes to realize that nearly everyone inside was mildly Force sensitive. They weren’t as strong as Kenobi, Jinn, or himself, but they were strong enough for him to feel them close up like this. He hadn’t felt the light of Xanatos at all. </p><p> </p><p>Maul made his way through a few long halls until he was dumped into the farmland under the wide dome that protected the AgriCorps careful work. There were plants of all kinds growing strong around him in neat rows and lines. Watering tubes hovered between those rows, some misting faintly against the plants. </p><p> </p><p>Maul found Kenobi with Si Treemba near a pile of manure. The smell was almost enough for him to say ‘kriff it’ and turn back to the city, but then Kenobi ripped open a wall. </p><p> </p><p>Maul blinked. </p><p> </p><p>A hidden door? </p><p> </p><p>He jogged closer until he could hear them talking. </p><p> </p><p>"It's just a storage area,' Si Treemba said, disappointed. </p><p> </p><p>Maul peaked over his shoulder. It was indeed mostly full of crates. </p><p> </p><p>It seemed innocent enough if you didn’t know what you were looking at, and it hadn’t been so well concealed. Kenobi pushed on the door. He heard a soft electronic beep, and it swung open.</p><p> </p><p>Si Treemba hissed nervously again. His pale, luminous eyes flickered. "Are you sure we should go inside?"</p><p> </p><p>"You stay here," Obi-Wan instructed. "Keep a lookout. I'll be right back."</p><p> </p><p>“So you can get in trouble alone?” </p><p> </p><p>Si Treembra shrieked and Kenobi spun around with his hand flying to his lightsaber. Maul crossed his arms over his chest and eyed Kenobi. He really had no idea Maul was there? How was he not dead yet? </p><p> </p><p>Right. Jedi lived in their pretty little temple. He didn’t need to know when someone was sneaking up on him. Kenobi put his hand on his chest and breathed deeply. </p><p> </p><p>“You couldn't have warned me?!” </p><p> </p><p>“We should put a bell on you,” Si Treemba frowned at Maul. Maul ignored him and shouldered past the both of them so he could look around the storage room. Kenobi followed after him. </p><p> </p><p>Immediately, the walls turned opaque again. It was like being inside a white cube. He bent over to examine the labels on the cargo boxes. The labels were black triangular shapes that showed a red planet with an orbiting holographic spaceship.</p><p> </p><p>Maul recognized it instantly - Offworld. He leaned over to read markings on the side of the crate. He moved from box to box, reading the descriptive labels. Explosives. Turbo-drills. Detonators. Tunnel borers. Biotic grenades.</p><p> </p><p>These were mining supplies. But they were on protected AgriCorps land. As Maul understood it the AgriCorps, like all jedi initiatives, were strictly forbidden to concern itself with any profit-making enterprise. Was someone here secretly in league with Offworld? Xanatos was an ex-jedi, so perhaps he was using some old connection to hide his equipment. </p><p> </p><p>No, that didn’t seem quite right. </p><p> </p><p>Maul considered the explosion. The timing of it. Xanatos’ offer to give the Home Planet Mining company ten percent of their profits. </p><p> </p><p>An investment and destruction at the same time. </p><p> </p><p>"Obi Wan, hurry up!" Si Treemba called. "We stink! We want to take a shower!"</p><p> </p><p>Kenobi saw a small box in the corner that he had missed. This one had no label, only a metallic icon that served as a clasp. It was a broken circle.</p><p> </p><p>Like the scar on Xanatos’ cheek. </p><p> </p><p>Maul pulled out a holo recorder and scanned the equipment around them, just in case. They had seen enough for now. Kenobi  slipped past the boxes to the door, with Maul not far behind him.</p><p> </p><p>"What is it?" Si Treemba asked.</p><p> </p><p>"Some kind of secret annex for Offworld," Obi Wan said. "They're up to something."</p><p> </p><p>Si Treemba's greenish skill paled to a dull gray. "Here? But they're forbidden."</p><p> </p><p>"Since when does that stop them?" Obi-Wan said grimly. "Let's get back. I have to contact Qui-Gon."</p><p> </p><p>“Mmmm. He’ll be busy. Home Planet Mine blew up earlier. That was why I came here.” </p><p> </p><p>Both of them looked at him in horror. “Why didn’t you tell us earlier?” Si Treemba cried. </p><p> </p><p>“I was going to, but then Kenobi opened the wall and this seemed more interesting.”</p><p> </p><p>“More interesting than an explosion?! Is anyone hurt?!” Kenobi looked worried. Maul shrugged. </p><p> </p><p>“Probably. I came here first. Jango and the other’s likely went to help out. Explosions are nasty business.”</p><p> </p><p>Kenobi swallowed thickly. He looked grim, as did Si Treemba. </p><p> </p><p>“We should go help, if we can. I need to tell Master Jinn what we found too.” </p><p> </p><p>“The storage area?” Maul clarified. </p><p> </p><p>“The broken circle. Master Jinn got a letter when we arrived that was signed with the broken circle. It said something to the effect of ‘I’ve been waiting for this day’. It was signed by-”</p><p> </p><p>“Xanatos,” Maul cut in. Kenobi looked startled. Maul explained. “He came to the meeting between the arconan, Home Planet Mining, and Offworld. He’d the Offworld representative, and he knew Jinn. He’s a jedi wash out.” </p><p> </p><p>Kenobi sucked in a sharp breath. </p><p> </p><p>“What?” </p><p> </p><p>Maul motion for him to follow. “Come. Let’s get back. Treemba?” </p><p> </p><p>Si Treembra looked between the pair. “We should go back to our people and check on them. We are sorry, Obi Wan and Maul.” </p><p> </p><p>Kenobi shook his head and touched Si Treemba’s arm gently. “Don’t be. You’re people may need you. We will be okay.” </p><p> </p><p>“Hurry up,” Maul kicked Kenobi’s boot. Kenobi hesitated another minute before he nodded and followed Maul back to the speeder bike he’d commandeered. </p><p> </p><p>Kenobi climbed on the back and held on to Maul tightly as he sped them back to the city. </p><p> </p><p>By the time they returned the clean up was nearly finished. Bodies were stacked up outside the mine, and equipment was being salvaged as best as it could. The whole place tasted like grim defeat. </p><p> </p><p>Maul grimaced in disgust. </p><p> </p><p>He left the bike where he’d initially found it and the pair made their way to where Jango, Clat’Ha, SunTag and Jinn stood outside the wreckage. They were talking quietly. Maul grabbed Jango by his wrist. </p><p> </p><p>“We need to talk,” he said, quiet and firm. Jango’s visor tilted minutely between him and Kenobi before he nodded once. </p><p> </p><p>“We’ll go back to our apartments. I have a scrambler set up.” </p><p> </p><p>“Why?” Kenobi looked surprised. </p><p> </p><p>Maul shot him a look. “A mine just blew up and we’re surrounded by corporations. You really have to ask?” </p><p> </p><p>Kenobi winced. “Point taken.” </p><p> </p><p>“Come on, <em> ade </em>,” Jango touched both their shoulders. “It’s been a long day, and we should all get something to eat and go over what happened here today.” </p><p> </p><p>Maul didn’t shake his hand off as he nudged them towards a transport that would take them back to their apartment. Jinn broke off, while Clat’Ha and SonTag followed the trio. Maul watched him over his shoulder. Steadily, Maul’s respect for him was dying. </p><p> </p><p>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </p><p> </p><p>Jango pinched the bridge of his nose. </p><p> </p><p>His helmet rested on the table next to his place, now empty save for a few bones. The two boys say before him, Maul still eating like a half starved Tooka while Obi Wan picked apart a salad strategically and ate the purple tomatoes first. </p><p> </p><p>“So let me get this straight. Your <em> jetii </em>magic uncovered an invisible door. And when you went in you found heavy explosives and a weird box?”</p><p> </p><p>“The Force,” Obi Wan corrected. His bright blue eyes looked up at Jango, burning with determination. Jango had been careful about the <em> Jetii ad </em> on the <em> Monument </em> but now that he had basically cut loose of his caretaker Jango had less to worry about. </p><p> </p><p>“Yeah, that. It told you there was an invisible door, and it was right.” What the <em> actual </em> kriff? Jango was seriously going to have to learn more about this Force osik if he was going to be raising a <em> jetii ad </em>. </p><p> </p><p>“Exactly,” Obi Wansaid, like that made perfect sense. His shoulders slumped. “I’ve never seen anything like it before. It was very strange.” </p><p> </p><p>“And Jinn doesn’t know anything about it either.” </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan bowed his head. </p><p> </p><p>The conversation with Jinn hadn’t gone well. The jetii had refused to take action, or even go to investigate the scene himself. He called the entire thing ‘Interesting, nothing more’, and ordered the <em> ad </em>to do nothing but report on how crops were growing. </p><p> </p><p>Jango could see Obi Wan wanted to rip his hair out. There was a strong sense of justice in this one, one that any Mandalorian would have nurtured and encouraged instead of dismissed. Jango had nearly destroyed the holo projector to get Jinn’s face off of it. </p><p> </p><p>“He knows something,” Maul piped up once his mouth was finally empty. Obi Wan looked at him, startled. </p><p> </p><p>“You missed it,” maul told him, “I told you an jedi wash out came to the meeting? Xanatos? Well he had an unfinished circle scar on his cheek.” </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan’s eyes went wide. </p><p> </p><p>“He knew Jinn, too. I think he was his Padawan.” </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan bowed his head. </p><p> </p><p>“Do you know anything about Jinn’s last Padawan?” Jango asked kindly. </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan hesitated before he answered. Jango would have too, if a <em> jetii </em>asked him about a mando, but they had been through much together on the journey here. </p><p> </p><p>“I had heard rumors that Qui-Gon had lost his last apprentice in a tremendous battle, and had vowed never to take another. He came to the Temple every year because the Council of Masters asked him to. I think they wanted him to try again. He never picked anyone though. He would spend a few hours watching initiates. He was… studying them, us, like he was looking for something no one else could see. After that he would leave, to fight the darkness alone.”</p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan set his fork down. His body hunched in on itself. Instinctively, Jango reached out to rest a hand on his shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>“Ob’ika?” He could tell, even without the Force, that there was something else. </p><p> </p><p>“Forgive me,” he mumbled. He didn’t cry, but Jango thought it was a near thing. “When Master Yoda told me he was coming to watch the Initiates tournament I thought- I was a fool. I thought I had a chance. I thought I would be able to please him, but if no one else could how would I? He didn’t want me then. And on the ship I thought, if I worked hard enough or did well enough maybe he would change his mind. I only ever wanted to be a Knight, but I-” </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan choked. His shoulder was tight and shaking under Jango’s hand. </p><p> </p><p>Maul stared at them both with wide eyes. He looked more afraid that Obi Wan would cry than he had at the idea that they might be eaten. In other circumstances Jango might have teased him for it, but now was not the time. </p><p> </p><p>“He didn‘t want me,” Obi Wan said in the most horrible kind of defeat. “He‘d seen me fight before, and he did not choose me then. He didn’t choose me on the ship, and he saw all of my weaknesses. Now no one will choose me. They sent me away to the AgriCorps and I know that there’s honor in that too but I can’t be a farmer, I can’t-” </p><p> </p><p>“Slow down,” Jango instructed. He locked down his anger. <em> Jetii </em>could feel those kinds of things, right? “Start over, what do you mean you were sent away?” </p><p> </p><p>Jango rubbed Obi Wan’s shoulder carefully. The kid still looked ready to start bawling, but what else could he do? Jaster would know how to care for him. Jaster would know what to do with a heartsick <em> ad. </em>Jango was starting to feel like he was too young for this, but no one else was here to try. </p><p> </p><p>“It’s what happens when an initiate ages out,” Obi Wan took a shaky breath. “Once we reach thirteen, we’re too old to be taken as Padawan learners. If no one wants us as their Padawan’s by then we get sent to a different branch of the jedi. The EduCorps teach, the ExploreCorps map out space and meet new species, and the AgriCorps grow crops.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango had to fight to keep a tight lid on the anger that surged through him, though the glance that Maul threw his way told him he wasn’t entirely successful. </p><p> </p><p>“And they just sent you off. Without even a choice where you went?”</p><p> </p><p>Even if he wasn’t a Jedi Knight (and since when were there so many jedi?!) he should have at least gotten a choice. Jango could see Obi Wan doing alright exploring, or even teaching, but farming? It was like he was being set up to fail. And who in their right mind let a child feel so unwanted? So unworthy? </p><p> </p><p>Jango grit his teeth and took a breath. Nope. No exploding around the <em> ade </em>. </p><p> </p><p>“Master Yoda said I would be best suited to the AgriCorps.” </p><p> </p><p>“So he handed you off to Jinn, just like that? Even though Jinn already isn’t considering taking on a student?” </p><p> </p><p>“Well… No. They didn’t send me with anyone. I had a data pad with my room number on it, but I forgot that at the temple.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango patted Obi Wan’s shoulder gently. </p><p> </p><p>“Alright. We’ll work all of this out, okay Ob’ika? I’m going to see about… discussing this situation with Jinn. Sound alright? You can stay with us tonight, if its okay with Maul.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango looked at his charge, who was still reluctant to be his son, and Maul only shrugged. He looked lost, but not the same way Obi Wan was. Jango squeezed the boy’s shoulder. </p><p> </p><p>“Are you sure?” he asked quietly. “I don’t want to be in your way, Master Fett.” </p><p> </p><p>“Just call me Jango,” he said firmly. “No Master’s here.” </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan just nodded. </p><p> </p><p>Jango changed the subject to something more lighthearted. Some holodrama he’d seen the younger <em> Haat’ade </em> watching before he left. It wasn’t a shock that Maul had no idea what he was talking about, but Obi Wan confessed that his creche-mate had snuck in copies to watch before he’d been chosen as a Padawan. </p><p> </p><p>Jango had no idea what a creche-mate was, but he felt he’d pressed the little <em> jetii </em>too much already tonight. They’d found sleep clothes for Maul in the market, but he was a good head shorter than Obi Wan, so Jango leant him one of his own softer shirts to use for the time being. It still fell all the way to his knees. </p><p> </p><p>These were children, both of them, no matter what Maul argued. </p><p> </p><p><em> Jetii ade </em> that had been lost or discarded. </p><p> </p><p>Jango wasn’t lying when he said he was going to talk to Jinn about the circumstances. Jinn and maybe this ‘Grand Master Yoda’ who was, in Jango’s professional opinion, a karking fool. </p><p> </p><p>What kind of a dip-fucked, brain dead, nerfheaded clorbag varblernelk thought any of this was a good idea? Was this how all <em> jetii </em>treated their young? </p><p> </p><p>Obi Wan’s self worth was next to non-existant, and he’d been tossed into a metal can with a distant-at-best derisive-at-worst sorry excuse of an adult. The <em> jetii </em>were asking for trouble. </p><p> </p><p>Jango kept his helmet firmly in place when he came to a stop in front of Jinn’s apartment. They’d all been put in the same building. Apparently Clat’Ha knew the owners. </p><p> </p><p>He knocked firmly on the door. Anger swirled around him, tamped down only by the beskar. </p><p> </p><p>It opened a moment later, revealing Qui Gon Jinn in all his bantha-shit serenity. </p><p> </p><p>He wasn’t expecting it when Jango drove his fist into his face, twice in quick succession. The second time he felt something break. Hopefully his nose. </p><p> </p><p>When a lightsaber came swinging at him Jango blocked it with his vambrace. The plasma hissed and sputtered against beskar, but his armor held firm as Jango pushed his way into the room relentlessly. </p><p> </p><p>“Fett!” Jinn backed away, still gripping his lightsaber tightly. “What is the meaning of this? I have done no harm to you, to prove this!” </p><p> </p><p>The words would have been much more eloquent if they weren’t muffled by a hand quickly soaking with blood. </p><p> </p><p>“Done to me? Nothing. Done to Obi Wan? Fucking plenty. Someone needs to blunt your damned teeth, Jinn, before you leave more scars on that kid.” </p><p> </p><p>Jinn actually looked confused, and just a little bit horrified. “I’ve never raised a hand to Obi Wan. You’re mistaken, and over reacting. We can talk about this like adults-” </p><p> </p><p>“Not a chance. You might not have hurt his body but you’re killing his spirit.” </p><p> </p><p>Jinn stumbled a step. </p><p> </p><p>“I would never do such a thing.” </p><p> </p><p>“Then explain to me why he was almost in tears trying to figure out why he’d been sent away from your fancy temple, and why he thinks no one will ever want him? I didn’t know <em> jetii </em>were in the habit of killing spirits, as well as people.” </p><p> </p><p>Jinn flinched like he’d been slapped. Good. </p><p> </p><p>“You don’t understand what you’re talking about,” Jinn said quietly. “No one does. I cannot take on another Padawan. Obi Wan is a talented fighter, true, but he is angry and dangerous. He is too impulsive by far. The child must learn patience.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango stared at him like he had a porridge running out of his ears. </p><p> </p><p>“He’s a twelve year old human boy. We’re all angry and impatient, you dumb fuck. Is this about Xanatos? He was your Padawan.” </p><p> </p><p>Jinn jerked again. He was clearly a man used to having all the cards in hand. When someone else had more than him, he didn’t know what to do with it. </p><p> </p><p>“How did you- Nevermind that. It’s best to leave the past in the past. It’s no one’s concern but mine.” </p><p> </p><p>“It’s my concern when you’re taking out your feelings for Xanatos on Obi Wan,” Jango snapped. “You can’t tell me that you’re leaving the ‘past in the past’ when it comes to that.” </p><p> </p><p>Jinn swallowed thickly before his face smoothed over into a mask nearly as effective as Jango’s visor. </p><p> </p><p>“This is a jedi matter. It does not concern you. You do not understand our ways, or the ways of the Force. I will ask you to leave now, and I will forget that you ever came here.” </p><p> </p><p>It was a diplomatic offer. </p><p> </p><p>Jango’s fury coiled tight in his chest. </p><p> </p><p>“Don’t you dare forget that I came here. Don’t you dare forget what I said. I’ll break more than just your nose if you do. And I will not let you do more harm to Ob’ika.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango turned on his heel and stormed off. He pulled up Silas on his comm on his way back to his apartments. </p><p> </p><p>“Silas. Find me everything you can on the <em> jetii </em> Qui Gon Jinn, and a <em> dar’jetii </em> Xanatos.” </p><p> </p><p>“Sounds like you’re having fun over there, ‘alor.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango hissed under his buy’ce. “Not hardly. Call me what you have something. Fett, out.” </p><p> </p><p>Jango didn’t go back to his apartment right off. He went to blow off steam first, so Ob’ika wouldn’t feel his anger in the Force. He knew, knew that the boy would blame himself for Jango’s altercation with Jinn, and Jango wouldn’t let him shoulder more weight. </p><p> </p><p><em> Ka’ra </em> , what was he supposed to do about all these <em> jetii ade </em>? </p><p> </p><p>If nothing else he would give them somewhere safe to go. </p><p> </p><p>Or so he thought, before Obi Wan disappeared the next day. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Finally some fucking catharsis after all that angst!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Breaker of Chains</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So I figure that when Obi Wan was taken by Xanatos it had nothing to do with when it happened, and everything to do with the fact that Xanatos wanted Obi Wan. He was gonna get him anyways, so I went with that here. </p><p>This is the longest chapter I've written for this fic, and I actually lied. There's gonna be one more chapter to this arc before we move on the an arc I like to call 'Search and Rescue'.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Forget putting a bell on Maul, Maul was going to put a leash on Kenobi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The foolish boy had made the executive decision to leave before dawn with no more than a note.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul handed the piece of flimsi to Jango, his jaw set tight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Dear Mr. Fett and Maul, </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>I went back to the Agri-Corps dome to get another look at the secret room in case I saw something I missed before that might help Master Jinn. I will return with lunch around midday planet time. Thank you for last night, and I apologize for the inconvenience. </span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Sincerely, Jedi Initiate Obi Wan Kenobi</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango didn’t look any happier to see the note than Maul felt. He knew Kenobi was impulsive and foolish but this was truly ridiculous. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How was it possible that this was the same man who had consistently beaten Maul through his lifetime? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul paused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well. Kenobi had charged a Sith head on after his vaunted master had fallen to his hand. He’d taken only a single other Jedi to confront that same Sith when he had back up. He’d left the Jedi with no help at all to try to rescue Satine. Maul had seen him fight on full battlefields and</span>
  <em>
    <span> loose his lightsaber</span>
  </em>
  <span>. And, he was also the one who had raised Skywalker and Tano. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>What was that saying about Neti falling from their branches? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul realized with no small degree of horror that Kenobi had mellowed with age, and this one was twice as rash as the one he’d known. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well fuck. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had been busy in his room in the morning after breakfast, and Jango had been off talking to someone on a private comm that he wasn’t allowed to eavesdrop on, and in the middle of all that Kenobi had just. Vanished. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I should have kept a better eye on him,” Maul scowled at the flimsi, quietly willing it to light on fire. He’d never gotten the hang of spontaneous combustion, and it didn’t work now either. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango shot him an unimpressed look over the edge of the parchment. It was small, hotel issued. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m pretty sure you’re younger than him,” Jango said patiently, “so if anything he should have been watching you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t even bother with Maul’s bristling pride this time. Jango wouldn’t snap at him, of that Maul was certain, but he was clearly irritated by Kenobi’s lack of forethought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It didn’t help that a moment later the door swung open and Clat’Ha strode in, her eyes white around the edges, with Jinn in tow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul blinked at the white bandages plastered to the normally dignified Jedi’s nose. Was Jinn getting in bar fights now? At this point it wouldn’t surprise Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango was cut off by Clat’Ha, who had gone pale. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s Obi Wan. He’s gone missing.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul’s blood went cold. His face blanched to grey-pink. “What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Missing? Truly missing? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul’s mind went to Xanatos. He was the only other threat they had encountered on this journey. Well, the only one that still lived. The draigons were gone, the pirates were space dust, only the washed out Padawan was left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He went to the AgriCorps dome this morning,” Jango said, showing them the note. Jinn’s mouth thinned into a line and his brows pinched together. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Si Treemba said he saw him there, but he vanished. They heard shouting and fighting near the annex they found the other day, but when they got there Obi Wan was gone,” Clat’Ha shook her head mournfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have to find him,” Jango spoke for all of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jinn held up his hand. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We must be patient,” he counselled, and Maul knew he wasn’t the only one who wanted to strike the Jedi in the face. “If we rush in with haste, we run the risk of putting him in further danger.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Funny to hear that from the Jedi,” Jango snapped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jinn narrowed his eyes. “I wouldn’t expect a man like yourself to understand the subtleties of bidding ones time and gathering information-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s hard to gather information when you hoard cards to your chest like a hutt on a losing streak-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you needed to know I would tell you-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Like you told Obi Wan? Listen you-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Enough!” Clat’Ha snapped, stepping between the bickering men. It was enough to get them to cut it out, at least momentarily. “Arguing helps no one, now shut up. Our first priority needs to be looking for Obi Wan. I’m going out to the dome to see if I can find any leads. And you two are not going to go after eachother the second I’m gone, got it?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She looked pointedly from one man to the other, until both were bowed to her will. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul would have been impressed in any other situation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kenobi isn’t dead,” Maul said with certainty. All three looked at him, startled. Maul met their eyes defiantly. “He’s not weak enough as to roll over and die just like that.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...The kids right,” Clat’Ha’s shoulders relaxed and she slowly eased into a smile. “We’ll find him. I’m off, I’ll comm you if I find anything new.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to go to the dockmaster,” Jango said finally. “I’ll find out if there’s a ship that’s left Bandomeer that might have him on it. Maul, you should come with me. It’ll be dangerous.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul shook his head. “I’ll find you later. I wanna check on a rumor I heard first.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango eyed him suspiciously, but Maul had proven himself resourceful and dangerous. Reluctantly, the Mandalorian agreed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Just keep your head down, okay? I’ll be very upset if I don’t get the chance to adopt you properly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul kicked his boot. “Cut the sentimental Banthashit,” he scolded. “You’re supposed to be a Mandalorian, a fearsome warrior!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And there’s nothing Mandalorian’s value more than our </span>
  <em>
    <span>ade</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Maul’ika. Children are our future, and you are mine.” Jango patted his head lightly, minding his horns. “Meet back here tonight, or I’m coming to find you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul rolled his eyes. As it he hadn’t noticed the tracer Jango had slipped into his poncho pocket. He would leave it be for now. If he went somewhere he didn’t want Jango following he would take it out and attach it a tooka for Jango to follow after. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the time being, he left the apartments and headed to the Offworld admin building in Bando. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It wasn’t hard to sneak in through the vents. It was one of the only good things about being this small again, was how easy it was to slide through buildings and ships. He had to carefully rerout a few cleaning droids, but besides that he didn’t have any trouble finding Xanatos’ office. He did, however, notice that the door was hidden behind the same opaque wall that Kenobi had found in the dome. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Certainly Xanatos’ work. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul briefly considered kicking out the grate and ripping Kenobi’s location from Xanatos’ screaming throat, but the building was situated between an actual mine and a smelting facility. There would be guards, miners, and a hundred other workers in the building, and if it went into lock down Maul had seen laser grid generators in the vents on his way in. He didn’t fancy fighting an army of disgruntled Offworlders or getting cut in half again, thank you. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was always window, he supposed… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But Maul was patient. He had to be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hated it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It went against his very nature. Still, he was rather good at lying in wait. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He watched Xanatos work. It was hard to see from this angle, but in the reflection of the window Maul caught his fingers moving, and the input of codes. He watched the pattern that formed. The computer showed only a code, and while Maul didn’t have the key he had enough to work it out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He even got the password. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Crion</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Xanatos made for the door Maul carefully lifted a familiar lightsaber off of his hip and set it gently aside. As soon as Xanatos left Maul slowly eased his way out of his hiding place. He grabbed the lightsaber, one he had once thrown into the plasma generators in Theed, and searched Xanatos’ correspondences for any mention of Obi Wan in his little code. He found a few, but they were vague and brief. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It told Maul just enough to know that Obi Wan was alive, and had been sent a mine in the seas. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul copied as many files as he could and saved them a data stick in the desk drawer before he made off for the vents and the outside world. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>By then it was nearing dark. The miners had traded shifts, and the office workers had gone home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was sneaking around the side of the building when he heard something very interesting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jinn. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The master was sneaking around the shadows like a common thief. Like </span>
  <em>
    <span>Sith</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Maul nearly laughed. The Jedi hypocrisy would never cease to amaze him.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"If you have plans for Bandomeer, you should know I am here to stop you," he said, his voice low but full of Force. It really was his intention to put a stop to his former Padawan’s ploy here. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos flung one side of his cloak behind him dramatically, and Maul could see the lines of lineage. Kenobi had a habit of stripping himself of his own cloaks, as did Tano. His hand rested casually on the hilt of a lightsaber. A familiar lightsaber. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos patted the lightsaber. "Yes, I still have it. After all, I trained for all those years. Why should I give it up like a thief, when I deserve to carry it?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was beginning to think he was going to have to write down when he knew about Jedi traditions and cross check it. He had been raised to kill them, which meant he needed to learn how they fought and how their sentimentality made them weak. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know there were rules about keeping lightsabers after leaving an order. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To be fair, a sith never would have been given the chance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Because you deserve it no longer," Jinn answered. "You shame it."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A flush spread over Xanatos' face. Jinn’s comment had hit him. Xanatos still cared what Jinn thought of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Good. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul could use that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was stiff, and angry, then he relaxed, smiling. Maul tracked his emotions carefully. Weaknesses. Everyone had weaknesses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I see you are still a hard man, Qui-Gon. Once that bothered me. Now it amuses me." Xanatos began to circle around him. "We were friends at the end, more than Master and apprentice."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yes," Jinn said, taking careful steps to keep up with Xanatos. Maul tensed when he turned so he could have seen him if he were looking. He didn’t. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span> "We were."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"All the more reason for you to betray me. To you, friendship is nothing. You enjoyed my suffering."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"The betrayal was yours. As was the enjoyment of suffering. That is what you discovered on Telos. Yoda had already seen it. And that is why he knew you would fail."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Yoda!" Xanatos spat the word. "That knee-high troll! He thinks he has power. He hasn't dreamed of a tenth of the power I know!"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You know?" Qui-Gon asked mildly. "How do you know such power, Xanatos? A mid-level manager of a corporation, sent to do the board's bidding?"</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I do no one's bidding but my own."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Is that why you're here? Is Bandomeer a test of your abilities?" </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"I don't take tests," Xanatos snapped. "I make the rules. Bandomeer is mine. All I have to do is reach out my hand and take it."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He circled closer, his cloak swirling and brushing against Jinn. He was a viper waiting to strike, but his fangs weren’t out. Maul knew Xanatos’ words. He had heard the same himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>A Sith does not wait for opportunity. He makes opportunity, and then he reaches out and takes what is rightfully his! </span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The lesson, like many, was accompanied by pain. Maul had limped for a week afterwards, but only where Sidious could not see it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Power. What did this wash out know of power? He hadn’t even made it to Jedi Knight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"It's a tiny planet. Galactically insignificant. Yet it pours forth wealth into my hands. If you would only lose the tiresome rules of the Jedi, it would do the same for you. But no, Qui-Gon is too good. He is not tempted. He is never tempted."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"Bandomeer is not yours to own! You were always overconfident. You have gone too far</span>
</p><p>
  <span>this time."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"No." Xanatos drew his lightsaber. "</span>
  <em>
    <span>Now</span>
  </em>
  <span> I have gone too far."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul cocked his head. He could feel the Darkside swirling around him, brushing his skin, searching for its place inside him. His body was too small to house much of it yet, but it was not he who called it, merely he who had a true hold of it. He who was its child. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Those who accept the power of the dark side must also accept the challenge of holding on to it.” </span>
  </em>
  <span>Maul startled. He didn’t recognize the voice of his memories. </span>
  <em>
    <span>“By its very nature the dark side invites rivalry and strife. This is the greatest strength of the Sith: it culls the weak from our order. Yet this rivalry can also be our greatest weakness.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos laughed again, breaking Maul away from his thoughts and the voice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"You destroyed everything I loved," he accused, his lightsaber barely missing Jinn’s shoulder, so close it singed the fabric of his tunic. "You destroyed me that day, Qui-Gon. Yet I was reborn. Stronger, wiser. I have surpassed you."</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul snorted, and started to leave. He decided he didn’t care about the rest of the fight. He needed to find Kenobi and he actually had a lead. He would come back and finish cleaning up Xanatos’ mess later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kill him, maybe. Offer Kenobi his head for recompense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maybe not that exactly. Kenobi could be squeamish, </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>"And where is your new apprentice?" Xanatos sneered.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t stick around to hear the rest of it. He knew the answers already. A deep sea mine. There were only a few close enough to the shore for a control freak like Xanatos to send Obi Wa- Kenobi to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul did stop long enough to send the information to Jango. He figured he might like to know where he was going, and where Xanatos and Jinn currently were duking it out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Meanwhile Maul found a small transport to take him out to see. He knocked the owner out cold, stashed his body, and stole the ship. He kept it low to the waves. In the darkness of the night any guards would be hard pressed to see him approach. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He wasn’t met with blasterfire when he stopped the transport underneath one of the high legs of the rig. Maul secured it and spidered up the sides until he was sneaking on board. His come flashed with an incoming message from Jango, one that he soundly ignored. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he reached the top of his rig Maul pulled out his (finally finished) weapon. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul held what looked like a S-195 blaster pistol, with slightly longer than average barrels. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They made a perfectly functional blaster, with only slightly weaker bolts than a regular one would have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was still working on that.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It would work for this. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Carefully, he snuck into the mine. </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>He had to ride on top of the turbolift, out of sight of the hulking, but stupid guards. They would be easy to mind trick, but tricks only lasted so long and he had seen slave collars like the ones on the sentients he passed. Those would be rigged with explosives. He rather liked Kenobi with his head on his shoulders, thank you. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he was further down he could feel it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi’s light. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Something was keeping it dim, but still there. A suppressant? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos was really getting annoying. Maul was killing him when they got back to the mainland. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If Jango didn’t beat him to it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul should have answered him comm so he could call dibs. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Too late now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He hopped off the turbolift when he reached the floor where Kenobi’s presence was the strongest. It was till a phantom thing compared to what it had been before, nevermind what it would be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul kept his hood drawn firmly and made his way further inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Deep in the undersea caves the slaves were kept in bunks. There were no bars to keep them in place, for their collars and their emaciated state did that just fine by itself. Maul could tell at a glance that most of them were half starved, or more, and beaten on the regular. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The collars around their throats stood out over standard, tattered jumpsuits. The guards were lax beings, and with a simple command the two playing dice outside the bunks fell asleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul picked his way through the slaves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It reeked of unwashed beings, blood, and sickness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul found his way to Obi- Kenobi, who was resting uneasily beside a spindly limbed being. Phindian. Weak joints, and a particularly pronounced jugular. Maul considered fourteen ways to kill him before he turned to his target. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul tapped Kenobi lightly on the shoulder with his boot, startling the little Jedi awake. Maul touched his mind lightly, minding the darkness inside of him and keeping it careful. Just enough that Kenobi recognized him in his frightened, sleep addled state. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Blue eyes stared up at him, Kenobi’s mouth dropped open in shock. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maul?” he asked quietly. Hope trembled in his voice and Maul’s stomach twisted unpleasantly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>People weren’t supposed to feel hope around him. They were supposed to fear him! Maul scowled down at him and tossed his lightsaber at Kenobi’s gaping face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi caught it on reflex alone, the weapon calling to him. It had felt utterly wrong in Maul’s calloused hands, his anger not mixing with the righteous light and the burning hope that lived inside Kenobi’s crystal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi cradled it to his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This weapon is my life…” he whispered, a sentiment that was shared between Jedi and Sith alike. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Then you can owe me twice,” Maul said derisively. “Let’s go. “</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I can’t!” Kenobi touched his collar. It was buzzing faintly with electricity. Maul scowled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Can’t you use the Force to turn it off?” Maul asked irritably. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi shook his head miserably. He was a sorry sight, his clothes tattered and, now that Maul was close enough to see, his back burned with familiar marks of electric whips. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had a veritable tapestry of those same scars across his own back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’ve cut me off. I can barely feel it anymore,” Kenobi’s voice cracked.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul winced in unwanted sympathy. He knew the feeling well. It was one of his masters favorite punishments. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul knelt before Kenobi and reached for his throat. The little Jedi twitched but didn’t fight against him. He tilted his chin to give Maul better access. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The metal was sturdy, it would be hard to cut through without killing Kenobi along with it, and the electric charge was near to the tiny explosive. Not small enough to blow through a wall, but it would do plenty of damage to soft human skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It would be easy to turn it off. Getting it off was another matter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not to mention the rest of the slaves that lay around them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looked down to find the phindian watching him through slitted eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...You’re not going to let me leave the rest of them here, are you?” Maul asked, exasperated. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi startled. “What?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul pulled his hands away and stood up to brush off his cloak. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Show me where they keep the spare parts for the equipment,” Maul ordered shortly. Kenobi frowned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know where those are.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul gave him an unimpressed look. “Haven’t you ever escaped from a prison before?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi frowned at him. “Why would I have had to do that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... Jedi really don’t teach anything useful, do they?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Obawan,” the phindian finally gave up his ruse and sat up. “Your friend will free us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul quirked a brow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not so!” The phindian waved his long arms. “He will cause us trouble.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’ll definitely cause you trouble if you don’t quiet down. Who knows here where the spare parts are kept?” Maul demanded shortly. He pulled his hand back to reveal the blaster holstered at his side. The phindian paled and Kenobi smacked Maul on the leg. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t threaten him! He’s my friend, Guerra!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul rolled his eyes. “Then he should be helping. I won’t ask again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The phindian, Guerra, stood up reluctantly. He looked dead in the eyes. Yet, in the furthest depth, there was hope. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul bit back the urge to stomp it out. He needed this being’s help, for the time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Guerra looked to the sleeping guards warily. Maul rolled his eyes. “They aren’t waking up soon. Get going.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Other slaves stirred around them. Eyes watched them through hooded darkness. Maul breathed in the despair and fortified himself. It was going to be a long night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Guerra lead him into the tunnels, down the hall to locked room of spare parts. It took Maul less than a minute to pick the locks. They were old school and not very advance to begin with. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once inside he found a power pack for one of the big drills they used in lower levels, a wire coil, and disemboweled the locking mechanism for the doors. The circuit boards were kept carefully intact while he fetched a small tool box, conveniently equipped with a soldering iron, and set to work.He attached his wire coil to the capacitor for the door, and connected that to the big battery. While he was at it he found a heavy magnetic coupling splitter. He wished for Daleen. She’d already have the whole place turned on its head electronically. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>With his girls, and his brothers, Maul could have done anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would get to them soon enough. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” Guerra asked nervously. “This is fun! Not so. I do not trust your friend, Obawan.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m making an EMP generator,” Maul said shortly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi’s face split into a startled, hopeful smile. “You can do that? Where did you learn? Did Jango teach you?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm? No. Now hold still. The collar’s going to tingle and then all the lights will go out. Stay close to me. Humans have terrible vision.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hey!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul ignored Kenobi’s indignation and pushed the ‘lock’ button. The door fizzled, the battering flickered faintly with electricity, and everything went dark. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul relished it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Let’s go get your friends, Kenobi.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan stayed close to Maul as they prowled through the darkness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He couldn’t understand how he could see so well, his gold eyes glowing faintly in the darkness like embers to an unseen fire. Maul was one mystery after another. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan had thought him to be a Mandalorian, like Jango, but he wore no armor and he didn’t speak with the same accent. He fought viciously and without mercy when it was needed. Kenobi could not forget the grim comfort he had taken during their fight with the draigon’s to have someone as skilled and determined at Maul at his back while they battled off their death. His every shot was perfect. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even before that, he’d felled two hutts in the span of a breath. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was unlike anyone Obi Wan had ever met before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Admittedly, he had mostly met Jedi. Obi Wan had never been out of the temple, and it showed sometimes now. In the temple he had never been hungry. In the temple he had never hurt so badly for so long. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan swallowed those thoughts and followed Maul in the darkness. He could sense him through the Force, his presence dense and heavy. There was a gravity to Maul, in his sharp teeth and gleaming gaze. His ferocity was frightening, but as Maul had said, he did not allow his anger to control him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He controlled it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan could not say the same thing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was his own temper that had resulted in him being sent away from the order, and his own impulsiveness that had lead him to leave behind the safety of Jango and Maul to investigate on his own. He just wanted so badly to impress Master Jinn he thought- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They would have come with him, he realized now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fett was a good man. Even if he was Mandalorian, and Obi Wan had only hear horror stories about them, he had held Obi Wan’s shoulder when he’d felt like he was drowning in his despair and spoke kindly to him when he didn’t have to. He offered to help with no chance of recompense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And here Maul was, guiding him through darkness. Saving him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Saving all of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Shame welled up in Obi Wan’s chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>How could Obi Wan tell Maul that when he’d come to free him he’d been so relieved he barely thought of the other prisoners? He had thought only of the weight being lifted off himself, in the scant seconds before Maul brought up the idea of freeing everyone. How could he call himself a jedi when he was so self centered?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When he’d opened his eyes and found his friend looking down at him, half hidden in his familiar poncho, he’d been confused. But the Force whispered of Maul, of bright eyes and vicious determination, and he hadn’t been afraid for even a moment. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was comfortable, in the same way a nexu would be to those familiar with it. He was dangerous to be certain, but he’d never hurt Obi Wan. He’d only ever helped him, from the moment they had met on the Monument, when he’d been thrown into Mauls arms. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan grasped Maul’s poncho as he trailed after him. His other hand held his lightsaber. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you throw up, I don’t have anything to clean your mouth with,” was the only warning Obi Wan got when they returned to the slave bunks. Maul pulled a knife from his boot, the movement something Obi Wan felt more than saw, and slit the guads throats. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan should have mourned their loss. Any good jedi would have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But his back stung, and Guerra’s haunted words whispered through his mind, and the pain of the miners and the death that permeated the air choked down any grief he would have for the slavers. Obi Wan was sickened to realize he would have killed them too if he could have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The light, Little Jedi.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan, somewhere between grief-sick and warm whenever Maul called his that, lifted his saber and ignited it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the pale blue glow hallowed faces watched the three of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re leaving,” was all he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The collars,” started one slave, a human who had lost his eye fighting the other day. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They’re off,” Maul said shortly. “And if you’re that worried, here,” he held up something shaped vaguely like a wrench. Obi Wan stayed still when Maul reached for his collar again. The soft leather of his gloves ran across Obi Wan’s throat before the wrench found its way across a seam he hadn’t noticed. There was a click and the collar fell off in two pieces. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Silence fell. Then, one by one, starting with Guerra, the rest of the slaves approached. Maul unlocked their collars. He set them all free. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What is your name?” One of them asked at last, their voice hoarse and rough. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan’s companion regarded him carefully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Maul,” he said at length. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The word spread through the slaves in the whisper. Maul hunched his shoulders and shoved the wrench into a togruta’s hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s a magnet lock,” he said gruffly. “Fit it around the edges.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stalked away, and was followed by the rest of the newly freed slaves. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A young twi’lek women, one scarred across her face, stopped them. There were tears in her eyes. A single one fell from the left and she wiped it away before touching it to Maul’s cheek. Maul twitched away from her, his hand flying to his blaster, but he didn’t draw. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have broken our chains,” she said quietly. “May water find you in the desert, and the sun find you in the snow.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan didn’t understand, and the look on Maul’s shadowed face said that he didn’t either, but he inclined his head all the same. For someone who boiled with anger all the time he was remarkably patient. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan had never seen him take his temper out on someone who hadn’t wronged him first. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They make their way through the darkness. More than once did Maul had Obi Wan extinguish his saber before guards rounded the corner. In the shadows he draw his knife and snuffed their lives out. He didn’t fire his blaster once. It would have made too much noise, and given away his position. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Where had Maul come from, if Jango had not taught him these things? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The finally reached the surface. The clear air of the night blanketed the newly freed sentients. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was no way to call for a ship to pick them up, but within an hour one came to investigate the silence from the mine. The Offworld insignia blazed on the side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan helped Maul take the ship by force. Together he guarded Maul with his ‘saber while Maul blasted through their attackers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The climbed on boards. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a good sized ship, and once they were further in Obi Wan understood why. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ship wasn’t just sent to investigate. It was sent to reinforce them. New slaves took up cages in the cargo hold, and across from them were exotic animals. There were monkey-lizards and glittering vulptex. He saw colorful kiros birds fluttering around one cage. Obi Wan found a tiny varactyl in a cage that squeaked at him when he came closer. It was no bigger than a tooka, and it payed through its cages, as if sensing safety from him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan broke the lock and took out the little lizard to cradle in his palm. He turn to ask Maul when he thought and paused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had stopped in front of a small crate where shadows moved within. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It took Obi Wan a minute to realize that the shadows were three slim, young creatures that hummed with the Force. Tails lashed through the crate and tiny clawed paws lashed out. Maul growled, something low in the back of his throat. Obi Wan felt it then. The hair on the back of his neck prickled with anger, hurt, sorrow and grief. It swelled the room before reached a crescendo and falling again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fighting from the animals was over. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul opened the crate and three small vornskr, two males and female with a chopped ear and a crooked tail, went tumbling out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They circled Maul, rubbing their cheeks along his legs and chirping up at the startled looking boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The moment was ruined when a human woman came back from the front of the ship. The togruta with the locking device followed after her.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’re going back to the mainland,” the human said. “You should buckled in.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Thank you,” Obi Wan said with a short bow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She nodded once at him and left. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan looked Maul, who finally gave him a crooked, gap toothed grin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Through victory our chains are broken,” he said, the words slow and solemn despite his smile. There was something familiar to them, and the Force hummed its agreement.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had set him free. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Red and Dead</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Maul; I’m a big bad scary Sorta Sith. I’m not here to make friends. </p><p>The Universe At Large : he is tiny and angry and friend shaped.</p><p>For those of you who already know that I work in a grocery store in colorado, I was not in Boulder, I'm safe.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It occurred to Maul only when they were halfway to the mainland that he should probably tell Jango that they hadn’t died. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t know </span>
  <em>
    <span>why </span>
  </em>
  <span>he was bothering, exactly. However much Jango might fancy himself a would-be-father for Maul he </span>
  <em>
    <span>wasn’t</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He wasn’t a father, or a master, or anyone that Maul owed true loyalty to. Maul owed him for patching him up, nothing more. He did not ask to be adopted and he did not need a parent or anyone to take care of him. He was perfectly capable of taking care of himself. He had been for years. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>After this job that debt of his should be paid for, and Maul could go on about his life. He could find Kilindi and Daleen, fetch his brother from Dathomir before the witches could twist him into a tool for their use, and start building his shadow empire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was his plan, wasn’t it? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>"Plans are fragile things, and life often dashes expectations to the ground."</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul’s head snapped around. He’d heard something again. A woman’s voice this time, one that whispered to him from a space between shadows. In his mind it was painted pale purple and white. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Tiny, pin-pricked claws caught on his sleeve and one of the vornskr’s clambered up to rest on his shoulder, pushing her head against Maul’s cheek before she crawled inside his hood and lay herself around his neck. Her dark body was warm and fluffy with baby fur. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She hadn’t reacted to the voice, nor had anyone else in the ship of freed slaves. Not even those few who stood close enough to hear a whisper away from him where he sat next to a control panel in the galley. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not a real voice then. Not one from a physical place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul touched his temple, beneath one of his crowning horns, and felt his stomach twist unpleasantly. Was it returning, now, the madness he had spent so long entrenched in? Mother Talzin’s magics had stitched together his fragmented mind with green energy and her own will, and after her death he had been forced to learn to hold it together himself. Sometimes the insanity threatened to creep back in. Sometimes he woke up and it was too dark and he could hear acid rain hissing and see the scratched paintings that a lunatic had put on the wall in fits of rage that kept him living and breathing but not truly there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a terrible thing, the madness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Being not himself, or worse when he was lucid enough to almost grasp onto concepts more solid than filling his mouth with blood and filling his heart with vengeance but could not quite grab hold of the flitting knowledge of who and what he was, or even what he hated so much that it kept his heart beating when the weaker would have perished.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d lost a decade of his life to that haze, in the squalor and the garbage and the fire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Thrown away like everything else on Lotho Minor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His nails dug hard into his thigh, biting into the skin there until it threatened to break and grounding him in the fact that he was not there. He had legs. They hurt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul took a breath, slowly, and wove the fear in his heart into a latticed shield that he’d been patching around his mind. It had done enough to keep him safe from the Jedi, but they hadn’t really been looking at him. They’d had no reason to prod his mind for more than superficial surface thoughts. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Sidious had done more damage than Maul wanted to admit, and it would take more time than he had to completely fix it. If he ever could. There were scars in his skull, deep claw tracks that his master had left for him when he lanced through his thoughts and tore them asunder. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He touched the small muzzle of his vornskr. Her companions, siblings, perhaps, found a place on his lap. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The voice did not sound like the mad hissing and the frantic, cloying whispers of his shattered self. For one thing, he had never had a woman's voice. For another, it was not dripping with loathing and desperate pain. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The scars on his palm itched. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once he was centered again, and sure of the world around him, Maul input Jango’s comm code. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He answered a second later. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Who is this?” he demanded. His voice was short and sharp and there was the distinct sound of metal being ripped apart in the back ground. What was he doing? Maul had the feeling he’d missed something while he was on the platform with Kenobi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maul,” was all he said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango’s tone changed instantly. “Maul! Where are you? Why didn’t you answer the call?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul rolled his eyes. Why was Jango so worked up? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I used an EMP to kill the explosive charges in a bunch of slave collars on the mine I found Kenobi on. It knocked out the comm along with everything else.” Maul wasn’t sure why he wasn’t just telling Jango that he hadn’t felt like it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... You know what. I’ll ask when you get back. Where did you get the EMP?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I made it.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango went quiet. Then, “</span>
  <em>
    <span>Where</span>
  </em>
  <span> did you come from?!”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul couldn't help it. He actually laughed. A rough, unused sound. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Orsis,” he said finally. “I trained on Orsis.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Orsis. Fuck. That explains a lot. Okay. How did you make the EMP?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Battery, door lock capacitor, wire coil.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kriff.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Long story short? The </span>
  <em>
    <span>di’kut jetii’s</span>
  </em>
  <span> wayward student planted a bomb on a timer in the ionite mines. It’s going to blow up the planet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looked up to see Kenobi sitting across from him, horror on his face. “Cursed,” Maul said firmly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Wait!” Kenobi jumped across the gap to slap his hands next to the ships com, nearly knocking his little lizard askew from its place clinging to his ginger hair. It’s tail slapped Kenobi in the cheek. Maul leaned away from him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ionite! Ionite disrupts electronics, especially clocks and sensors. Miner’s are afraid of it,” Kenobi said quickly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ob’ika!” Jango sounded relieved. “You’re both safe?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he said, a strange smile on his face, “But the bomb-”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We’ll handle it,” Jango promised. “Can the two of you meet us at our apartment?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can,” Maul assured, shouldering Kenobi behind him. “And Jango?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hmm?” There was the sound of rocks being thrown against something metallic. Jinn shouted something too far away to be heard. Hopefully he got hit with a rock.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have dibs on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>dar’jetti</span>
  </em>
  <span>.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Absolutely not-!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul hung up the com and sat back in the seat to shoot a crooked grin at Kenobi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What did you mean by that?” Kenobi asked curiously. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I mean that Xanatos has royally pissed me off, and I have no intention of letting him go now. If he was at the mines I have a starting point. Go back to the apartment.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not without you!” Kenobi grabbed his arm. “We go together.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul looked at him. His blue eyes were bright and true. Maul’s mouth thinned into a line. It would be dangerous for him but… Kenobi was stronger than he looked. If he had survived this on his own before, he must be. Maul underestimated him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very well. Together, then.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul inclined his head to Kenobi, and ignored the way he burst into a grin. Force, he was so young. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had the newly freed slaves drop them off somewhere where Maul could ‘commander’ and speeder for them. Kenobi sat behind him, holding onto his poncho while the vonskr piled into the front of his shirt and Kenobi’s little lizard hid inside the jedi’s pocket. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul turned them suddenly away from the mine. The Force, darkness whispering around his fingers, hissed at him that Xanatos was not there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where are we going?” Kenobi shouted in his ear. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul didn’t respond. He sped faster, roaring through the crowded streets of Bando. If Xanatos had set a mine to blow up the planet then he wouldn’t still be around, and Maul had found the landing platform that Offworld used for its corporate members when he’d been poking around Xanatos’ files. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They shot onto the landing platform from the street, bursting past the security teams and weaving between blaster fire until they went tumbling off the bike and directly into the cargo hold of a shiny nubien transport ship. It certain didn’t look like it came through an Ion storm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi landed on his feet and Maul at his side in a crouch. He forced the vornskr out of his clothes and shooed them off to the side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were like him. Fighters, angry and vicious down in their bones, hunters with sleak bodies ready to grow into muscle and danger. Venom coated their pointed tails. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Stay,” Maul ordered harshly, pushing them between two boxes for their own safety. He could feel the little female in his mind, upset at being pushed aside. Their bond was already strong. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi put his little pet in with Maul’s future hunters and the pair turned around right as the door slid open with a hiss and Xanatos came out, his cloak billowing. He was flanked by two assassin droids of a much more basic model than the CIS had used. He moved with a natural battle prowess, and looked down his nose at the children before him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul bared his teeth. Good. It would make it that much easier to kill him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul drew his blaster and fired without warning. Xanatos ripped his lightsaber out of his sleeve and flicked it on with a buzz. The red blade hummed ominous. Maul eyed it derisively. He could sense it from here. The crystal had been bled, but not properly. Xanatos was full of hatred, but not enough. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul fired again and Kenobi ignited his own ‘saber. The little Jedi threw himself at the wash out with abandon. He was vicious and fast, the familiar forms he had used in the future nowhere to be found. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul ignored the off footed feeling it left him with and kept shooting, careful not to his Kenobi while he was at it. The bolts shot back and hit the walls, scorching them and freeing crates from nets to go falling around them. It gave Maul the leverage to climb higher and hit Xanatos in the shoulder, thoroughly ruining his fine cloak. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Good. It was gaudy anyways. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The assassin droids came after them alongside their master with electro-staves, forcing Maul and Kenobi to fight three on two. Enraged by his loss of fashion Xanatos snarled and launched himself clean over Kenobi to slash down at Maul, who ducked and rolled out of the way. When Kenobi tried to held the droids intercepted him and tried to cut him down, forcing him on the defensive. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had to dodge and weave the slashes and jabs that Xanatos sent his way. He dropped and swept his foot out to knock Xanato’s feet out from under him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul fired at him twice and had both shots deflected.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have you always had such sloppy footwork?” Maul asked dryly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos rose to his feet. Kenobi circled him on the other side.  Xanatos dodged between the two of them, trying to get them to slip up and strike eachother, but both of them managed to avoid it. The Force curled around Maul as his temper rose and impatience came with it, practically begging to be used. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul shot just over Xanatos’ shoulder and steam erupted in the ship, screaming through the hold. The steam burned Xanatos’ arm, forcing a howl out of his mouth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Pathetic</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul caught Kenobi’s eyes and jerked his chin towards the ex-Jedi. Kenobi caught his meaning and abandoned his opponents when he launched himself at Xanatos with a powerful overhead strike. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos lashed out with the Force and slammed Kenobi into the wall so hard the metal dented. His lightsaber went out and fell to the ground with a clatter beside him while Kenobi’s body fell limp, just behind Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Rage coiled through Maul’s body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No, absolutely not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t hear the speeder roaring closer. He didn’t hear his comm, recovered from the EMP, going off. All he heard was the echoing of Kenobi’s body and his own blood rushing through his ears. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You shouldn’t have bothered with the Jedi,” Xanatos lectured, his voice slick. His Force slithered around Maul’s skull and tried to poke and prod him into listening. Maul snarled. “They don’t care about anyone or anything. They are cruel, and they will betray you in the end. They don’t understand true power.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And you do?” Maul snapped, his voice harsh and echoing through the coiling steam. Xanatos’ smile was a sickening sight. Maul was going to cut his face off and rip the mouth apart. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I understand it better than any of them. Let me show you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos threw his hand out, intending to strangle Maul, but Maul batted the Force choke away. Xanatos was strong in the darkside, for someone who hadn’t been trained in it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was born to it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Raised in it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Suffered and bled and killed for it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Darkside hummed through his veins. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ships ramp shook and clattered around the ground and the ship itself creaked as power filled it and pushed outwards, away from Maul. He lifted one hand and squeezed a fist to crush the droids on either side of Xanatos into nothing more than balls of scrap metal and wire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The former Jedi stepped back, his eyes wide. Fear flickered through them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Good. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul touched the barrels of his blaster. He unhooked them from the base and pulled them free. They swung apart, a hinge in the middle keeping them together until the bases met. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Red extended from one side, and crimson from the other. Maul held it in front of him, with Kenobi limp behind him and the darkness raging around the pair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You-” Xanatos gasped. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul met his eyes squarely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You speak of power as if you have it. You have barely scratched the surface of the Darkside. So you covet one scar and one loss above all else? You are weak. Pathetic. The Darkside is born of fear and hate and you seek to control all things. But the Darkness can never be truly controlled. You are weak, ex-Jedi. You were never even a Knight. I have killed Padawan’s, Knights and Masters. I will kill you too.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos lifted his ‘saber up to block Maul’s first attack, but he was forced to defend. Each arching strike was powerful and intended to take his head. Each twisted and flash of red launched at his openings and weaknesses. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Over, under, left, right, Maul came from all angles. Xanatos was good, but not good enough. He was no Jinn, no Kenobi, no Tano. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul dodged and slash aimed at his shoulder and drove the edge of his ‘saber through Xanato’s chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was quick. Quicker than he deserved. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stepped back and let him fall to the ground with a hole smoking in his chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stood over him, his lightsaber singing in his grasp of vengeance and satisfaction. It had met its first blood with a fallen Jedi of the same lineage that Maul had spent a lifetime battling. Maul’s hood fell from his shoulders and he turned at last to his fallen battle-partner. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He found pale blue eyes watching him. The pupils were dilated and Kenobi only uttered a weak groan. There was blood along his lips and his injured back had certainly been done no favors by the rough treatment at Xanatos’ hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul walked towards him slowly. He turned off his ‘saber and folded it back in half just as Jinn and Jango came bursting through the doorway in a clatter of armor and boots. Maul picked up his blaster and carefully clicked the ‘saber back in its place before he joined Jango at Kenobi’s side. The Mandalorian was checking him over, testing his ribs and stomach for broken bones and internal bleeding. He head bled sluggishly from a cut along the back of it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You found us,” Maul said, surprised.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango shot him a look. “I don’t know if you know this, but it’s my job to find people on the run. It doesn’t matter if their petty thieves or corporate hot shots. I’m very good at my job, Maul’ika.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango glanced at Maul’s blaster. So he had noticed after all. He was still acting like everything was the same. Like Maul wasn’t a sith. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come on. Let’s get Ob’ika to a proper doctor. And stop shaking the ship.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul hadn’t even realized that it was still trembling under the force of his anger. The ship shuddered and the lights flickered when he draw the darkness back inside himself and tucked it carefully into the ocean of his being. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He spared a glance at Jinn, who was cradling the body of Xanatos as if he hadn’t just tried to kill him and half a planet’s worth of people. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Had Kenobi held Jinn like that after Maul had killed him? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>An armoured hand on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts. Maul looked up to see Jango standing over him with Obi Wan hefted onto his back. He still looked dazed, but with the weight of Maul’s anger lifted from him he was much more relaxed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“C’mon. Let the </span>
  <em>
    <span>jetii </span>
  </em>
  <span>mourn. I’m trusting you to watch my back on the way to the hospital.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul personally thought trusting a Sith was a terrible choice, but whatever. He nodded once to the Mandalorian before he went over to the shelter he had left their companions in. He came back holding three vornskr and Kenobi’s varactyl. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango stopped walking when he saw Maul approach with a bundle of tiny animals. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... You’re cleaning up after them.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul scoffed. “Obviously.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The pair left Jinn to mourn his fallen apprentice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango left Obi Wan to rest in Maul’s bedroom in their apartment before he made his way out to the kitchen, where Maul was feeding their new little guests. Three small feline creatures with puffy black fur and long tails that pointed at the end in a diamond shape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three were all equipped with tiny, sharp claws and razor sharp baby teeth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango hadn’t even considered saying ‘no’ when Maul had pulled them out of a small space between crates in the cargo hold of Xanatos’ ship. The boy was a natural born hunter if he’d found the </span>
  <em>
    <span>dar’jetii</span>
  </em>
  <span> before either he or Jinn had arrived.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango hadn’t liked working with Jinn, and he liked even less tripping over him in close quarters combat with a coward who had no intention of fighting them straight. They had done more damage to each other than they had to Xanatos. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>In the end it hadn’t mattered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango’s kid had cut him down with a lightsaber of all things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango couldn't say he was surprised. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The </span>
  <em>
    <span>Manda </span>
  </em>
  <span>had been very loud about the boy, and Jango had seen him building the strange blaster over the last few days. He’d known he’d been up to something curious, but he hadn’t been inclined to ask right off. Nothing had been put together in a way that looked like it would explode, and Maul had seemed to know what he was doing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now Jango knew why. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Orsis. Kriff. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d heard of the academy there. The headmaster, Trezza, had recruited a Mandalorian years ago. Meltch Krakko may have been </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kry’tsad</span>
  </em>
  <span> but he was a formidable fighter. When he disappeared for nearly a decade it had been enough to warrant Jaster looking into it and Jango after. Now he was back with the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kyr’tsad</span>
  </em>
  <span> and a royal thorn in Jango’s side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Had Maul been trained by Krakko? He’d been back for three years, and Maul looked much too young to belong to Orsis for that long. Yet, Maul was not a half trained student. He was well trained, a frightening thing. No child should be that good at killing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It also confirmed… certain things. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango came to sit across the counter from where Maul was wrestling one of the felines with his hand, trying to ‘fight’ it for the small hunk of meat he was holding. The little varactyl that Maul said was Obi Wan’s was stretched out in front of a sunbeam that came through the window. Morning had already come and only Obi Wan had gotten any sleep. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango set his helmet on the counter and ran his fingers through his hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was too young for this. He was too young for two kids and four animals, and more kids to come. He’d promised to help Maul fetch his brother. That would mean three kids. Four, maybe, Maul had used plural but he’d been vague. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango didn’t know that he could raise all of them on his own. He was only twenty two, and he was Mand’alor as well. He didn’t even have a </span>
  <em>
    <span>riduur </span>
  </em>
  <span>to help him. How could he give the boys all the attention and care they deserved? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul and Obi Wan were already independent for their age, and given when little Jango knew of them it wasn’t that much of a surprise. Apparently the </span>
  <em>
    <span>jettii </span>
  </em>
  <span>sucked at caring for their young. While that meant that he probably didn’t have to worry about making sure they got dinner and washed up it meant that he needed to be more present for other matters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For the compassion and care they had been denied before. To coax the both of them into trusting him and letting him take care of them when he could. Would it really be fair to ask that they put up with a </span>
  <em>
    <span>buir </span>
  </em>
  <span>that had so many responsibilities to the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Haat’ade</span>
  </em>
  <span>?</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango had been so sure of himself before. And he hadn’t changed his mind. He wanted Maul as his son. He wanted Obi Wan too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>But he had to think about what was best for the boys. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On top of Jango’s own issues there was also the matter of the Force. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan had dreamed for so long of being a Knight, and his heart was crushed by the idea that it would never come true. Maul had already proven himself to be powerful in the magic, even more so tonight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango glanced at his blaster. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t know what he’d expected when he arrived at Xanatos’ ship with Jinn, their alliance held together only by the common goal of ‘stop Xanatos’, but it certainly hadn’t been Maul standing protectively over a downed Obi Wan before he sprung into a fight so fast and vicious Jango hadn’t been able to keep up with it at the time. He’d been a blur of red and black rage that took Xanatos down in the time it took Jango and Jinn to cross the landing pad at a run. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are taking this better than I expected,” Maul said suddenly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango pulled his gaze away from the blaster to look at the boy. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Taking what?” Jango asked, laying his hands on the counter. He’d noticed Maul was more comfortable when he could see everyone’s hand around him. It was just the smallest easing of his shoulders. Jango understood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Me,” Maul said bluntly. Jango frowned. His confusion must have shown, or Maul felt it in the Force, because he elaborated. “My lightsaber. And the Force. You felt it there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Well yes,” Jango tilted his head. “I knew about it already.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul’s head snapped up and he sat straight, knocking his playmate on his back. The feline chirped angrily at him and snatched the meat. He went scampering over to his litttermates, and ended up getting knocked head over heels by the female. She was a scrapper, and she adored Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You what?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango’s heart softened. Maul hadn’t known. He’d been hiding it this whole time. Had he been afraid? Had he thought Jango was going to punish him for having such abilities? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango recalled the scars that painted Maul’s body. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was very possible that that was what he expected, because that was what had happened in the past. The idea made Jango’s blood heat with anger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango tamped it down so he could speak calmly to Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“When I found you on that ship, the one that you were stowed away in, you lashed out when you were hurt. Every light in the ship exploded.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul grimaced. “I see. Then why didn’t you leave me there?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango didn’t even try to act like he wasn’t horrified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re a child! I wasn’t leaving an </span>
  <em>
    <span>ad </span>
  </em>
  <span>alone in the middle of space in a dead ship!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You have no obligation to me,” Maul snapped. “I’m not your son, you’ve sworn nothing to me. I’m not a Mandalorian-” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you can be. You know you can be.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The weight of his words betrayed the secondary meaning behind them. Jango watched Maul’s breath catch and his eyes grow wide. His skin paled to pink and grey. Jango winced. He hadn’t meant to scare him that much. He hadn’t meant to scare him at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You saw that,” Maul hissed, scrambling to stand up. Jango made himself stay calm. He made himself stay relaxed, his hands in sight and his eyes open and genuine. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I did. It was the future, wasn’t it?” He waited for Maul to give a stiff, short nod. Jango stayed very still. “I heard that </span>
  <em>
    <span>jetii </span>
  </em>
  <span>sometimes see the future, and sometimes they read minds. Mandalorian’s who are more connected to it can sometimes receive information from the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Manda</span>
  </em>
  <span>, but it’s mostly feelings and intuition.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Beskar muffles the Force,” Maul said quietly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t have my buy’ce on when it started. I saw what could have happened, and I saw what you changed it too, with your friends. You’re going to look for the girls eventually too, right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul nodded slowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango quietly added two more to his growing list of responsibilities. If it took a clan to raise a child it was going to take the entire </span>
  <em>
    <span>Haat’ade</span>
  </em>
  <span> to raise Jango’s.  </span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“You knew the whole time,” Maul realized, looking at Jango with new eyes. One of the barriers between them was starting to dissolve. “Why didn’t you tell me?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I didn’t want to scare you. If you wanted me to know you would tell me, eventually. You hate having to make yourself lesser.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul grimaced. “Yes. I do.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango leaned closer across the counter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would never ask you to do that, you know. I would never ask you to pretend to be anything that you aren’t. You’re a feral nexu, and too smart for your own good. You’re a fighter the likes of which I’ve rarely met. Even if I wish that you didn’t have to be. I wasn’t lying, or joking, and I’ve known what you are and what you could be the entire time. I want you as my son, Maul’ika. If you say yes.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul sat back. He looked lost, and confused, but Jango could see a new light in his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My brothers. If you take me you take them.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Jango promised. He hesitated. “I wouldn’t try to keep you from family. My </span>
  <em>
    <span>buir</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Jaster Mereel, took me in. I was a foundling. My parents and my sister were killed by the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Kyr’tsad</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Oh.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door to Obi Wan’s room hissed open and they both turned to see the boy standing there, looking pale and shaken but standing upright. Jango waved him over and Obi Wan came to sit by his side. His varactyle came running off and climbed quickly onto Obi Wan’s shoulder. Obi Wan smiled and pet her head, where a crown of messy feathers was starting to come in. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It’s good to see you’re up,” Jango said fondly. Obi Wan shot him a shy smile before he sat up straighter. He was far too adult for Jango’s liking. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to inconvenience you like that.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango’s heart broke. He dragged Obi Wan into his side. His armor lay on the corner, so he didn’t smack the boys head on his breast plate. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It wasn’t an inconvenience, but I wish you boys had waited for us, or at least told us the plan. I would have helped, you know.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan flushed faintly with the simple affection, but he let Jango hug him for a minute more before being released to sit on the stool next to him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry,” he said again. “But we won! Right?” He looked between the pair. “I.. don’t remember everything. It was dark, and cold, and kind of hard to see…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. We won,” Jango assured. “Xanatos is dead. Maul got him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan looked to Maul in surprise. The zabrak boy hunched his shoulders. Obi Wan’s eyes got wider. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The lightsaber. The red lightsaber, with two blades. It was real. It was yours.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul nodded, once. His lips curled, ready to bite. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes. It is.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But, how? You aren’t a jedi, are you? You’re too young…” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m old enough,” Maul snapped, as he was wont to. Jango privately disagreed. From what he knew of zabraks, Maul hadn’t even hit puberty yet. He wouldn’t have even  been eligible for his </span>
  <em>
    <span>verd’goten</span>
  </em>
  <span> yet. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But you’re right,” Maul admitted. “I am no jedi. I am… I was, a sith apprentice.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan sucked in a sharp breath. “But the sith are dead!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not dead,” Maul shook his head. “Hiding. A line of Banite sith have been in hiding for a thousand years, passing knowledge from Master to Apprentice.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s- But- We have to tell the Jedi Council,” Obi Wan said suddenly. Maul lunged across the counter and grabbed his arm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No!” He nearly shouted. The lights flickered and Obi Wan’s skin paled. Jango grasped both boys by the shoulders and pulled them apart. Maul spared him a brief glance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Maul said again, his voice low and sharp and urgent. “You can’t tell them. They wouldn’t believe you, there’s no proof of what I say and even if there was there’s nothing they can do about it. My- The Master is too powerful politically to be touched, and a religion is not illigal. The Jedi serve the Republic’s whims.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a messy, uneven argument, but it wasn’t wrong either. Besides that Jango had personal doubts about exactly how capable the Jedi Council was. Not just for Galidraan, but for Obi Wan too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were fools. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was still a problem though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s not all, is it?” Jango pressed, squeezing Maul’s shoulder. He frowned, but nodded, slowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. It’s not.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We can’t let a Sith Lord run free though,” Obi Wan argued. “The Sith are evil! They’ll hurt people.” He faltered and looked at Maul, remembering that he had just called himself a Sith Apprentice. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul glared at the table. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No. </span>
  <em>
    <span>We </span>
  </em>
  <span>will not let him run free. I will kill him myself. For the pain he caused me. For the life he stole from me. For the people he ripped from my arms and the blood I painted myself in for him. I will kill him for it.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan frowned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Revenge is dangerous. Master Yoda says it leads to the Darkside.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m already entrenched in the Darkside,” Maul said irritably. He tilted his head. “Do you even know the Sith Code?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan frowned. “Well, there’s only ever two of them. And they use that Darkside, and tried to take over the galaxy before. They’d angry and hateful, and evil.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Again, he winced. Again, Maul didn’t take offense. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Peace is a lie. There is only Passion.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Through Passion I gain Strength.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Through Strength I gain Power.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Through Power I gain Victory.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Through Victory my chains are Broken.</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>The Force shall free me”</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul’s voice echoed with the words of a thousand Sith that came before him. Jango could feel it in his bones, the way the air shifted and the shadows lengthened in the corner of his eyes. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan frowned. “That… doesn’t sound </span>
  <em>
    <span>that </span>
  </em>
  <span>bad.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul inclined his head. “You’re not entirely wrong. My Master is evil. He’s cruel and vicious. And his own master still lives. He has broken the Rule of Two by teaching me. I will end the line of Bane. There is strength in the Darkside.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Although,” he added, reluctantly. “The Lightside is not without its own merits.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Don’t jetii preach about balance?” Jango wondered aloud. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They usually mean only for the Light to be prevalent,” Maul said with a grimace. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But, yes. We do,” Obi Wan said. His face fell. “They do. I’m not a real jedi now. And Master Jinn won’t take me and there’s no one else that would.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I told you I would help you, Obi Wan,” Jango reminded him. He hated saying it. He really did, especially given what Galidraan could have been if they hadn’t had the warning from two years ago. “If you really want it, I’ll help you find a teacher too, if you’re willing to put up with us for a while more. There have to be a few Jedi who have less of a stick in their shebs than Jinn does.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Obi Wan looked at him with such fragile, heartbreaking hope Jango wanted to burn the Jedi temple to the ground. “Really? You think someone would take me?”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If they didn’t, Jango would. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango nodded at him with as kind of a smile as he could muster. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do. We’ll just have to start looking.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul made a small sound. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Actually,” he began, “I might have an idea where to start. There’s a reclusive Jedi Master…” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Y’all I can’t tell you how great the number of people talking about Jon Antilles is because I already have a half a scene written of him and Maul written that I don't even know if I'm going to manage to get in here lol. </p><p>Now also seems like a good time to say that this is the first in a series called ‘The Fall Towards Grace’</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Reassignment</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Siolo Ur Manka had lived in the Jentares system for nearly seventy years by the time their ship, still on loan from a Mandalorian named Silas, touched down on the planets soft soil. It was overrun with thick jungle, and it sang with the Force. With life, and light, in the bird songs and the ambling hum of great beasts that marched through the foliage with thick soled feet and swinging necks. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>And in it’s shadow death and darkness, beneath the undergrowth and in the fanged mouths of predators. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul’s vornskr trotted behind him, their tails raised like tiny black flags. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ahsoka, Ezra, Ben, keep up,” Maul warned over his shoulder. Ben, a biggest and also the most troublesome, turned his face away from a fluttering insect to chirp at Maul. Ahsoka batted his should and knocked him back in line. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi, on Maul’s side, had his little lizard hanging from his hair. He’d named her something silly. Boba? Boga. She was tasting the air curiously while Kenobi looked around them in no small degree of wonder. If he’d never left the Temple before Bandomeer then there was no way he’d ever been to a planet with this much foliage on it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The air was thick and humid and Jango looked miserable where he tramped through the brush after them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not that it was easy to see with his helmet in place, but Maul was getting better and better at reading his body language.</span>
</p><p>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Jango still confused him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a lot of reasons, not the least of which was the fact that even though Maul had accidentally shoved nightmare fuel memories into his skull he still wanted to adopt him into his family. He was lucky that Jango thought they were only visions of the future, and not memories of Maul’s past. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even if Jango knew that, would it matter? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The people Maul had killed before still lived, for one thing, so for all intents and purposes for everyone that wasn’t him they might as well have been visions. Everything he knew was true and detailed, but insubstantial and subject to change. He’d changed Kilindi and Daleen after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was probably lucky that he’d been found by a Mandalorian. Anyone else would have had to many questions up front, or would have tried to force him into the life of a child. Maul would have had to kill them, and cover that up too. It would have been annoying. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul kept an ear out for anything dangerous as they neared the clearing where Siolo made his home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had been here years ago, five years in the future, and killed the old twi’lek master. He was a powerful Jedi, and deeply entrenched in the Force. Maul had only beaten him through trickery, and he could teach Kenobi that if it became necessary. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul shook his head. Since when was he seriously considering teaching Kenobi anything? He’d offered, once, to help him harness his anger and turn it into a tool. But Kenobi was too Jedi already to accept it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A shame. He could have made a powerful Sith. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perhaps- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul shook the thought off. He was already too attached to too many people. He’d even begun gravitating towards Jango against his will. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He didn’t need a father, and he had years more experience than the Mandalorian did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All the same, there was a part of him that still was ten years old, one that Maul ignored most of the time, that wanted what he could offer. It was faint, beaten down by the Maul that inhabited a body he’d long outgrown, but the longing was there. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They came into a clearing. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siolo Ur Manka was just as Maul remembered him. And elderly twi’lek with mossy green skin, his lekku were draped around his shoulders. He wore the brown robes of a jedi, and he was sitting peacefully, entrenched in his deep meditation. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The three sentients came to a halt half the field away from him. Ezra, entranced by the thick swirls of the Force around the master, left the safety of their group and trotted over to him. Maul hissed at him, but he was ignored. Ezra’s eyes were caught by the minute twitching of one of Siolo’s lekku. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We should probably warn him,” Jango mused as Ezra crept closer, his chest to the ground. Maul watched him. His posture was poor, but that would come with time. His butt wiggled as he stretched himself closer and closer to the Jedi Master. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No need,” Maul waved his hand flippantly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When Ezra made to pounce he was caught in the air, gently, by the Force. Siolo opened his eyes to looked at the vornskr, who bared his tiny teeth at him and tried to growl. His tail lashed uselessly. He was much too young to properly poinson the Jedi Master. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I believe,” Siolo said in his Rylothian accent, “That this is yours?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul used the Force to pluck the small predator out of his grasp and bring him back to his side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was poor technique,” he chided gently. Ezra chirped at him and crawled into his shirt instead of answering. Maul didn’t fight him. Ahsoka jumped up onto his shoulder with ease and bumped her cheek against his, as if apologizing for her littermates mistake. She was undeniably Maul’s favorite. She was already scarred, and already a fighter, and she’d destroyed three mouse droids on the way to the planet. She was going to be vicious and unstoppable once she was bigger than a bread box. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siolo looked over his assembled audience. He gripped his cane and stood, slowly. Maul was not fooled. He may be retired, but he was still a dangerous adversary. He was one of the few beings that Maul had ever run from in his life time, even if it was for only a few days while he built his lightsaber. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It felt strange to stand before him without it, and in fact without any conflict between them. He was not here to kill Siolo. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a weird feeling, to seek someone out without the intention of taking their head off their shoulders. Maul was still getting used to it. He was no less deadly than he once had been, but he saw more use in letting people live than killing them outright. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“Do not see every enemy as an enemy. See them instead as an ally, whether they know it or not."</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mauls cheek twitched but he didn’t otherwise acknowledge the woman’s voice. This was getting old. He was certain it had something to do with the shattered holocrons. He needed to get back to Malachor and find them again, if for no other reason than to make the random voices of unwanted advice shut up. Every time he heard someone speak to him his palm itched where the small scars were pressed into his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siolo looked over each of them in turn. Maul could feel him mentally brushing against Maul’d shields, and when Obi Wa- Kenobi stiffened Maul was certain he felt the same thing. If Jango wasn’t wearing his helmet it might well have happened to him too. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I don’t get many visitors out here. Certainly none as… unique, as you are.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We look for a Master for Obi Wan,” Jango touched Kenobi’s shoulder lightly and urged him forwards. Kenobi took a deep breath and squared his shoulders when he approached. Once he was close enough he bowed deeply to the older Jedi. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Venerated Master,” he said politely. “I am Obi Wan Kenobi, of the Coruscant temple, and the AgriCorps. “ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, the Force tells me as much,” Siolo inclined his head. “It also tells me you have great potential. Show me your abilities, young one.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi perked up, bouncing up on his toes. “Yes, Master! Um, do you have a lightsaber?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I have not carried one in many years,” Siolo shook his head and brushed his robes out before he rose to his full height and lifted his walking stick. “Shall I repeat myself? Show me, young one.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi looked dubious, but he drew his lightsaber all the same. Maul sat on a fallen tree, and Jango took up residence at his shoulder. He stayed standing, his visor fixed on the two Jedi. Kenobi hesitated before he swung at Siolo. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The old jedi parried the blow with his walking stick, reinforced with the Force. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was a trick that Maul had never quite gotten right. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“How did you know this Jettii was here?” Jango asked while Kenobi went in for another blow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul hummed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I was once sent to kill him. “ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yet, here he stands. And he doesn’t seem to know you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul shot him a grin with far too many teeth. “I don’t take orders well.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango huffed a laughed just as Obi Wan was knocked to the ground. Siolo was much gentler with him than he had been with Maul, though looking at him now Maul realized that the old master had been gentle with him as well. He could have killed him, if he really wanted to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Even if Maul had tried to flee, Siolo could have cut him down with a single parry when he was a boy of but seventeen. It rankled his pride, but in the end that mercy had been his downfall. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jedi weakness. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>(Maul ignored the phantom feeling of warm arms and cooling sand and blue eyes that did not hate</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He ignored the refusal to kill and two blue blades, and sharp, predator teeth held back. How much harder it was not to kill the clones on the </span>
  <em>
    <span>Tribunal (</span>
  </em>
  <span>Or why he listened to Tano in the first place) </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mercy stung at him and it was so much more difficult than cruelty)  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi got up, bowed to the Master, and started again. Siolo trounced him soundly each time, and while Maul could feel Kenobi’s frustrations building, he never yelled or threw his weapon down or demanded to know why he kept losing. Maul didn’t know if that was a good sign or not. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t you going to go fight?” Jango asked, nodding towards Siolo. Kenobi had at least given him enough challenge that one of his lekku fell out of place. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul shook his head. He knew how he compared to the Jedi Master. “We’re looking for a Master for Kenobi. As you said, I will have no other Master.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango placed his hand on Maul’s small shoulder and squeezed it. Maul looked at it, but didn’t knock it away like he might normally have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“No,” Jango agreed. “Never again.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They sat together until Kenobi had worked himself up, sweating and panting, and Siolo called for a halt to their spar. He barely looked rumpled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That’s enough, young one. You fought well. Was that Cin Drallig’s style I saw?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi nodded quickly. “Yes, Master. He teaches all the younglings their lightsaber forms.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It shows. You’ll have to practice being more adaptable than he is, but I can see your potential. Both with a lightsaber, and the Force. Here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siolo handed him a water skin, one that Kenobi drank eagerly from. Jango leaned forwards on his knees when the two Jedi started making their way over. Maul made himself stay seated, and kept his hand off of his modified blaster. Siolo’s eyes stayed on him, and Maul was reminded that the old twi’lek had once told him that others had come before he had. Siolo eyed him, but if he could sense the depths of his darkness he didn’t give it away. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You keep strange company, Initiate Kenobi,” Siolo mused. “A pair of Mandalorians are unusual companions for a young Jedi.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I promised I’d help him find a Jedi Master,” Jango said evenly while Kenobi flushed in embarrassment. “Maul heard you lived here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right,” Siolo inclined his head. “And he shows great promise as a Jedi. I have felt few so strong in the Light in recent years.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi sucked in a startled breath. “But, Master! I was angry in our fight,” he argued, his shoulders hunched in shame. “I was upset when you kept beating me so easily.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siolo looked faintly amused. He touched Kenobi’s shoulder. “I would expect so. You’re young, and you will grow out of that if you try. I didn’t sense any true attempt to hurt me, even when you were angry.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But anger leads to hate, and hate leads to the darkside!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So it does,” Siolo inclined his head. “But we are Jedi, not droids. We still feel. Even the greatest of Masters is not immune to anger. The important thing is that we do not act on it, or give it control over us. Do you understand?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi’s brows furrowed. “I… I think so.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Your Master will be able to explain it further to you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi startled, confusion on his face. “But, I have no Master. That is why we came here, to you!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I know,” Siolo said kindly. He squeezed Kenobi’s shoulder. “But I am too old to raise a Padawan properly. I am retired from fieldwork, and your education would be skewed if I were to try. You deserve better than an old twi’lek for your master, child.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“But- I’m almost thirteen,” Kenobi’s blue eyes glittered. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes?” Siolo looked confused. “I was almost fifteen when my Master took me on.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi gaped at him. “But thirteen is too old to be a Padawan? For human’s and species with comparable life times.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that what they’ve decided these days?” Siolo shook his head. “I heard talk about making a cap of youngling’s ages a few decades ago, but I hadn’t known they’d made it a solid rule.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why would they do something like that?” Jango asked, frowning at Siolo. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siolo shook his head. “I couldn’t tell you. Something about the other branches needing more members, but it seems silly to force younglings into them if they don’t want to be.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango inclined his head. “You’re sure you won’t take the boy as your student?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi was trying desperately to look brave and self assured, but it wasn’t working well. He looked crushed. Like each time he got his hopes up they were dashed upon the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“As I said, it wouldn't be fair to Young Kenobi for me to take him on. But there are plenty of other Masters in the order. Come, have supper with me, and I’ll see if I can’t think of a few names.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siolo motioned for them to follow him to a hut that was almost completely hidden by trees. Kenobi followed first, then Maul, with Jango behind them. He was saying something into his comlink, but he was too far behind for Maul to hear exactly what it was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stepped into a hut that felt far too warm and smelled like stew, and the galaxy turned on. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Far off in the stars, dozens of comlink lit up with a new order. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Mand’alor required a Jedi, and they were to find him one. Gently. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>‘Gentle’, for Mandalorians, was a rather subjective term. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace was intensely grateful that Depa was sitting at his side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her Padawan braid hung long down her shoulder, it’s beads glinting faintly in the dim light. It was almost time for the braid to be cut off. Depa was more than ready to be a Knight, and her trials were slated for the next week. She was busily writing on her datapad, apparently absorbed in the last of her coursework. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace wasn’t fooled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could tell from the faint furrowing of her brows that she was listening carefully to what was happening in the council chambers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They all were. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As Mace’s padawan she had a privilege to sit in on council meetings, unless they were more high security. This meeting was troubling, to be sure, but it wasn’t an emergency meeting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not yet, at least. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Certain of this, you are?” Master Yoda asked, his normally light voice deep with concern for their newest loss. Mace carefully let his irritation flow into the Force. It was something he had a lot of practice doing, unfortunately. Depa glanced at him curiously before she bent her head over her data pad again. It was balanced on her lap, while a few others were stacked next to the small chair that she was afforded beside his own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Master,” Qui Gon Jinn’s face was smooth now, but Mace could see the faint remnants of lines etched in with grief and frustration. Mace could only imagine. He’d lost his former Padawan, fallen or otherwise, and his prospective future Padawan all in the span of a single night. “The boy had training, but not from any Jedi, and he was powerful in the Darkside. He was not half grown and he cut down Xanatos with almost no effort at all. Before the night was over he and the Mandalorian had taken Initiate Kenobi and left the planet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was sparse at best, and there were so many gaps in the story that Mace could have ridden a Bantha between them, but so too were all of Jinn’s reports. Those that didn’t involve a simple end to the story and the rest was filled with ‘I followed the Will of the Force’. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace was not his biggest fan.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I fear that the dark child plans on corrupting Kenobi. The boy is already prone to anger and aggression.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That was true, but the same could have been said about Mace when he was Kenobi’s age. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And the Mandalorian?” Tiin asked, a deep frown on his face. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I could not say why he would aid in taking Initiate Kenobi,” Jinn admitted, bowing his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps it was for revenge,” Sifo Dyas offered up, his mouth turned in a grim line. “Many Mandalorians were injured during the battle on Galidraan. Perhaps the battle was not enough.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A grim thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace’s stomach turned. Depa’s grip on her stylus tightened. Through their training bond Mace could feel her intense concern for the youngling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Either way, I will pursue them and uncover the truth,” Jinn announced. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The room fell quiet. Mace exchanged a look with Yaddle and Giiett. Tyvokka didn’t look any more happy about it than anyone else felt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That may not be the best idea,” Poof said gently. “You are grieving, Master Jinn. Perhaps it would be best if you stayed at the temple for a time.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I do not need time,” Jinn said swiftly. “Initiate Kenobi needs someone to find him, immediately, and I am the only one who knows the Mandalorian and the Darksider.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eeth Koth looked to Tyvokka, who in turn shook his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were not the boys guardian, Qui Gon. And he is not your Padawan. You are too emotionally invested in this matter,” Tyvokka said gravely. “We should send another.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>None of them mentioned it, but everyone had heard about how devastated Kenobi had been when Jinn had refused to take him as his padawan after the show he put on at the Initiate competition a month or so earlier. Now Kenobi had fought off pirates and draigons at Jinn’s side, and he still referred to the boy as ‘Initiate’. Anyone else would have taken the boy for their padawan in a heartbeat. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Many would have already, except… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Unacceptable. I will find Initiate Kenobi,” Jinn insisted. “And I will bring him back.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Finally, Yoda spoke again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Feel that you have failed the boy, you do. Choose to pursue him, for Obi Wan’s best interest or your own redemption. Which do you seek?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I cannot allow a random knight to go after them,” Jinn argued. “The Mandalorian and the dark child are more dangerous than you can imagine!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“According to you, the Mandalorian also fought by your side against the draigon’s.” And according to some of the miners they had contacted before Jinn gave his report, he had also helped him disable bombs set to destroy the planet. Curious that Jinn didn’t see pertinent to mention that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“That was to save his own life. We have no idea what a Mandalorian would do to a Force Sensative child, let alone a Jedi Initiate. We need to rescue him.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re right,” Mace said evenly, catching Jinn’s eye. “</span>
  <em>
    <span>We</span>
  </em>
  <span> need to. Poof is correct. We all know that Xanatos was important to you, whatever may have happened in recent years. Stay home for the time being. Rest in your chambers, visit your friends, sit in the creche. Trust in the council to retrieve Kenobi.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Have faith in your fellow Jedi, you must,” Yaddle added. Jinn drew himself up to argue before it all seemed to deflate. For just a moment his shields slipped, and the grief and guilt came rippling out to wash over the Council members. Depa gasped quietly at his side. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, master’s.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace could count on one hand the number of times Qui Gon Jinn had actually listened to them. He could only watch the maverick Jedi bow to them and leave, his shields drawing back up around him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The door closed soundly behind him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He really should speak to a Mind Healer,” Poof said sadly. Mace had to agree. They’d tried to get him to do as much after Xanatos first left the Order, but Yoda had advised them not to push him on the matter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’d listened. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now, Mace wondered if that was the best idea. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Speaking of Yoda… </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Why was Initiate Kenobi sent to Bandomeer without an escort?” Mace asked suddenly, drawing all attention to himself. He was the youngest in the room by far, not counting Depa. “When Initiates are assigned to one of the corps they’re typically escorted by a Knight, or a Master who already belongs to them, aren’t they? So where was Initiate Kenobi’s?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Going to Bandomeer as well, Qui Gon was. Look after the boy, he did,” Yoda said helpfully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, and that worked so well,” Koth frowned at the Grand Master. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Circumstances we could not have foreseen, there were,” Yoda pointed out. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“True, this is. Yet still, more caution we should have used,” Yaddle argued. “Did this one purpose, didn’t you? To push the two together, yes?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yoda’s ears drooped minutely. “A good pair, they would make. Show me, the Force did.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This is why you asked that other Master’s interested in the boy not act?” Tyvokka asked with no small degree of unhappiness. The master was well known for his care of Younglings, something that his own apprentice had inherited. Somedays Mace wondered how neither of them were full time creche masters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Depa looked to Mace, startled. He frowned at her, but nodded once. It was true. Yoda had staked an unofficial claim on the boy. He wanted him for his own current lineage, and while Dooku was unable to take a Padawan while he had Komari Vosa, and Feemor had been undercover as a shadow until only a week ago, Qui Gon was the only one who could have done it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace let his irritation flow into the Force. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The old Jedi’s meddling was getting out of hand. Had the Council of Reassignment even authorized Kenobi’s transfer to Bandomeer, or had Yoda gone over their heads in this scheme of his? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A great Jedi, Kenobi will be,” Yoda said again, tapping his walking stick on the council room floor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If he returns,” Sifo Dyas said grimly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We need to send someone after him quickly. In that Qui Gon was no wrong,” Koth admitted. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It will have to be someone who is good at laying low, and good at tracking to get close enough to the Mandalorian and the ‘dark child’ he spoke of,” T’un mused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps Tholme and his new Padawan?” Omo B’ouri suggested. “Vos is one of the Kenobi’s old creche-mates.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Much darkness I sense in Vos,” Yoda argued, shaking his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Feemor,” Mace said suddenly. “He has Shadow training, he’s recovered from his last mission, and we don’t have another lined up for him yet.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>On top of that, suggesting Feemor would get him closer to getting Yoda to agree, since Feemor was Yoda’s Grandpadawan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Or should be, if Qui Gon hadn’t publicly disowned him. It was one of the biggest reasons Feemor had asked to train as a Shadow, instead of continuing on his Councilor path. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Whether Feemor was still Yoda’s Grandpadawan by rights or by sentiment, Mace’s suggestion did the trick. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Yoda nodded, slowly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Good. Trying to go against Yoda as council meetings was light trying to fight the tide. The Grand Master had much sway over the rest of them. 900 years of being with the Jedi would do that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Very well. Send Knight Feemor after Initiate Kenobi, we will. Retrieve our lost Initiate, we must. Learn more about this ‘dark child’ too, we shall.”</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No one disagreed. Mace took a data pad from Depa and started writing up new mission orders for Feemor, as well as arranging for his funding for the mission. Hopefully it wouldn’t be a long one, but the Force was tilting around them. New shatterpoints appeared and disappeared everyday. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Only time would tell where the future would lead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mace commed Feemor to come receive his new mission.  </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>I’ve added a new story to the series called ‘Let the Chips Fall’ the centers around the rest of the galaxy reacting to Maul, starting with Depa in a very interesting Council meeting. Take a look if you’re so inclined :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Slaves of Lineage</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Feemor stood before a small gathering of the Council in his mission attire. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was an unassuming body suit, with patches of thick insulated armor over each hip that went down his legs and a lined tunic that made it difficult to see the weapons he hid under his clothes. His cloak fell from his shoulders, and his hood was down. His lightsaber was tucked out of sight against the small of his back. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His pale hair was cut shaggy but short enough to be out of his way. He looked at best like a civilian with odd taste, and at worse like an inexperienced bounty hunter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Exactly the way he wanted when he was about to go out into the field. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Master Windu and Tyvokka sat before him, calm as could be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Looking at the holo projection of Obi Wan Kenobi and the blurry one of both the Mandalorian and the child he kept with him Feemor couldn’t say that he shared their sense of calm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a child at stake, one of their own and one that they had no information of except his height and the fact that he had cut down a Dark Jedi without breaking a sweat. That wasn’t a lot, but it was alarming. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Master Jinn suggested that we bring the other child in for… safekeeping,” Tyvokka growled. Feemor had to listen carefully. He hadn’t brushed up on his shyriiwook in a while. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Safekeeping,” Feemor repeated flatly. He’d been given the details of Jinn’s last mission, both what his former Master (and oh how that still hurt) and that of witnesses that had been interviewed after the fact. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” Master Windu said, his voice carefully level. His little Padawan, who wasn’t so little anymore, was sitting behind him as she tended to. It would be odd to see him without her when she passed her Trials of Knighthood. “He was of the opinion that a child that dangerous should be minded, by whatever means we might see necessary.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feemor breathed through his nose. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I suppose he didn’t have time to wonder what could have made a child so filled with Darkness in the first place?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Master Windu grimaced and Tyvokka growled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“He believed the boy to be trained by a Darksider, though he didn’t know the origin or spend much time with the boy. He responds to ‘Maul’.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feemor filed the information away carefully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That sounded like Master Jinn. He had always been very self assured, and when Xanatos failed he somehow managed to keep that self assurance but also twist it together in a complicated knot of insecurity and self doubt. He was bundle of contradictory emotions that Feemor couldn’t puzzle out, and hadn’t been close enough to try in… years. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not since he’d denounced Feemor publicly in front of the entire council and several other Masters. In front of Feemor himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feemor breathed out carefully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a child who was missing, at part because Master Jinn had made his typical mess of the situation and called it the ‘Will of the Force’ and a ‘Test of Perseverance and Honor’, or something. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feemor needed to find him, and he needed to save him. And figure out what to do about the other boy. If he was truly capable of such actions at such a young age then Master Jinn was probably right about him being trained, but tails of what Darksiders considered training were still horror stories told by Padawan in the dark of the night. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>As a Shadow Feemor had seen more than his fair share of evidence of their ‘training’, and what he knew did not bode well for the youngling. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He would help him too, if he could. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian could be a problem. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He could see the sign of the True Mandalorians on his armor, and while he didn’t have all the details of Galidraan he had heard that Master Dooku had been badly wounded during the conflict, and Komari couldn’t be pried from his side no matter what Master Che told her about attachments. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feemor should have gone to see her. But he wasn’t part of their lineage anymore, Dooku was no longer his Grand Master and- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I will see to it that the boy is safely returned to the temple,” Feemor said firmly, nodding towards the two Masters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Good. Try to contact us every fortnight,” Master Windu instructed. Both of them knew that with Shadow assignments the check in might not be exact, and that no news was not necessarily a sign that he was dead in a ditch somewhere. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, Master. I will leave at once,” he bowed to the pair and left the room. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He sent a message to Nari, a friend of his who worked in the EduCorps, asking for any information she could find on the Mandalorian’s and their civil war. He didn’t know much as it was. He knew there were three factions, and that the senate supported the pacifists lead by a human man named ‘Kryze’. He knew that the True Mandalorians had been involved in Galidraan and had done a lot of damage to a lot of Jedi, though thankfully no one in the taskforce was dead. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t enough information to go off of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Certainly not enough to have if he had to approach the Mandalorian in his pursuit of Obi Wan. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Feemor sighed quietly and turned his feet towards the hanger bay, where his nondescript ship should still be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Once more, it looks like I’m picking up Master Jinn’s mess,” he murmured to himself. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul watched hyperspace pass them by with barely concealed impatience. He’d started pacing half an hour ago, and driven Kenobi and Jango both up to the cockpit while his vornskr trailed after him in a long line, until they too got tired and went off to hunt whatever poor mouse droid had caught their attention. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The fact that Siolo had denied Kenobi was irritating. The fact that he had given them no realy information on where a more suitable teacher might be found was more so. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There were, as it happened, a number of Jedi who made their home in the outer rim, travelling from one planet to next and following only the Force to where they were needed most. A handful that Siolo knew personally, and another small dozen that he’d heard of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He’d contacted one for them, a human named Diath, but he was rearing his own nephew, who would one day be his Padawan, and coudln’t do much for them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Siolo had entrusted them with the location of a few Outer Rim temples that had more average teachers they could meet with, but he admitted that those Jedi were not as strong in the Force as even Kenobi was. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His hope for Knighthood was growing thin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul would have tried to teach him himself, but Kenobi was far to Light for it. It was disgusting. Maul had seen him at his lowest and he had had no more darkness in him then than he did today. His soul had ached and his heart had shattered, but no Darkness dwelt inside of him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>To much a Jedi and too little of one at once. He couldn’t learn the Darkside if he tried.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“He who learns the dark way will become infected with darkness. His judgment will become clouded and he will forget the good things he learned. If a Jedi persists in this attempt to bridge the two ways, he will be torn apart in his very being.”</span>
  </em>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes, that’s very helpful, but I’m already as Dark as they come, and he won’t be corrupted. Unless you’re going to spit out coordinates for his teacher, shut the kriff up!” Maul finally snapped at whatever irritating source the voices had. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was another woman, but this one felt warm and golden, like a yellow sun humming in space. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He got the vague impression of amusement before the words cut off again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They did that. They said something that was sometimes only somewhat applicable, gave him annoying advice, and then disappeared. Thus far he’d tracked four voices total, and the woman who somehow managed to feel purple was the chattiest of all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>None of them offered a name, but they felt old. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were getting one Maul’s last nerve. He had to go to Malachor to find some answer soon, or he might truly go mad again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were not bound for Malachor now, nor even one of the Jedi temples Siolo had mentioned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>No. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They were bound of Dathomir, and after that they would go to Concord Dawn, where Jango had people waiting for him. He didn’t say much about it, but apparently he had some responsibilities to tend to, and the looming threat of the Death Watch was still there. Maul still hadn’t figured out how he was going to get Rook Kast and Gar Saxxon back on his side. He’d have to take over the Death Watch again, but they lacked a common enemy this time, and the Haat Mando’ade still lived. And they were children still. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul scowled at the blurred blue light and turned on his heel once more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was so much to do, and while he had time to do it he was very tired of being patience. He was tired of waiting and watching. He longed for the freedom of a good fight, face to face and simple. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Xanatos had hardly been a challenge, and he left Maul more irritated than anything else. He should have fought Siolo while he could. He already had the Jedi’s attention through Jinn and Kenobi, where would the harm have been? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Probably mostly physical. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Likely on Siolo’s side. Maul still fought dirty, after all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The ship shuddered and they dropped out of hyperspace above Dathomir. Kenobi came down to join Maul while Jango guided them towards the planet proper. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stopped in front of the window to look down at the planet of his birth. It was a strange place, strong in both the Light and the Dark in equal, changing turns. When he’d gone through the old scriptures and studied what little the Nightsisters had left behind during his stint living there he found that oddly enough they worshipped both. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Nightsisters used the Darkside, yes, but their worshiped the Winged Goddess and Fanged God both. The Ashla and the Bogen. It was strange, Maul thought. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still thought as much. The Darkness of the planet swelled to welcome him when they came down from orbit, just as it reached curious tendrils of Force towards Kenobi. The Dark moved around him but Light caressed, gently, against his skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi gasped faintly. Maul shot him a crooked grin. He remembered the first time he’d felt Dathomir’s Force before. It felt like stepping in from the rain for the first time in years. Not like home, but there was a familiarity to it he’d never known before. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They floated to the planets surface, several klicks away from a Nightbrother village.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Once they touched down Maul felt something different. Not the vaguely playful welcoming of the planet that he’d come to known, and one that recognized him in turn. It was the familiar feeling of the Force warning him something was amiss. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul grabbed his poncho and pulled it firmly up over his head before he holstered his blaster and waited impatiently for Jango to come join them from the cockpit. He might be useful. Maul didn’t know exactly what was happening yet, but his gaze was drawn to the crooked forest that grew around the settlement. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He lead the way to the Nightbrother village. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The buildings were angular and primitive. They were made to be sturdy, not elegant or pretty. When Maul had come last it had been decimated by droids, and all that remained were bones littering the ground and buildings destroyed long ago. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now it was teaming with life. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dozens of Nightbrothers were working in the village, constructing new buildings, repairing old one, trading and training in the streets. Young boys, their tattoos not yet finished, raced each other through alleys and around wells that stuck up rhythmically. A strange shadow seemed to hang over the adults, one that the children were free of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Life swirled around them. Everyone carried weapons, primitive as they may have been. These men were warriors, trained their entire lives for combat. Even if they rarely saw open battlefields, or only fought for the pleasure of the Nightsisters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had seen all the Nightbrothers of this village fight at one point, when Talzin sent him startling aid against Dooku towards the end of the Clone Wars. Most of them died, but they had won the day nonetheless when the rest of the Shadow Collective launched their attack. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul rubbed his temple, under one of his horns. His head was starting to ache whenever he thought too much about the time that had come before, and the time that would never be again. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they reached edge of the village a ripple seemed to go through it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The young boys vanished and the work didn’t come to a halt but it slowed. Eyes locked on them. Hands hovered close to weapons. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kenobi and Jango tensed beside him, but Maul paid them little mind. He knew who he was looking for. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Bother Viscus appeared at the edge of the street, his hands empty. Maul knew him to be a powerful hand to hand combatant. That didn’t stop Maul from leaving Jango’s shadow to approach him, his arms deceptively loose at his side. The Nightbrother’s tensed as he passed, and he heard whispers when someone caught sight of his lower face and the tattoos that marked him as one their own. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He stopped in front of Viscus. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I seek Savage Oppress, and his brother,” Maul said clearly. He’d never met the younger brother, and speaking of him pained Savage. Maul knew that he should have pressed him, and pushed him, and forced him to relive to pain to make him stronger in the Darkside, but he hadn’t been able to. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A failing on his own part. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When his words registered the shadow on the elder Nightbrothers seemed to increase. Maul felt a swell of sorrow and rage in the Force. Something was wrong. Something was very, very wrong. Maul recalled the feeling when he’d stepped off the ship. Something in the woods. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Savage in the woods? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Where is he?” Maul demanded, taking a step closer to Viscus. Viscus didn’t back down. His gaze darted to the markings on Maul’s face and his eyes widened minutely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You’re a Son of Dathomir,” he realized, his eyes going wide. Maul scowled. He carefully pulled his hood back, revealing the rest of his face and his small, nubby horns that crowned his skull. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Savage is my brother,” he snapped. “You will tell me where he is!” The urgency in the air pushed him to abandon his usual caution. He couldn’t afford it now. Savage was in danger, and likely their other brother as well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Viscus’ gaze went from shocked to sad, even sympathetic, and Maul bristled at the pity. He bared his teeth at the adult, and barely felt it when Jango came to his side, with Kenobi in tow. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We came to fetch his brothers,” Jango explained, pulling Maul back to his side. “He said they were in danger here.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Not his exact words, but good enough. Nightbrothers were born slaves, and Jango had nearly flipped a table when Maul had told him as much. Mandalorian’s and their children. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Viscus bowed his head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m afraid you’ve come too late, stranger. Savage and Feral were fetched by a pair of Nightsisters not an hour ago. Mother Talzin had need of them.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So young?!” rage roiled through Maul’s chest. No, surely not. Surely the Nightsisters had not touched his brother when he was barely a teenager! He wasn’t a man and they would- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“She bleeds some early,” Viscus said, dispelling only some of Maul’s fear. “Or buys the cooperation of other planets with them. We live to serve the Nightsister’s, young one.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“They don’t,” Maul snarled. “I will not allow it! Where have they gone?!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Viscus’ eyes darted towards the woods before they settled again on Maul. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There is nothing to be done about it now, little one. You are Savage’s brother without question. I know your horn pattern. The same ones adorned your father, Barbarous. Yet we have not seen you before. The Nightsisters must have taken you before you were ever given to us.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul barely heard what else he said. The wood. Where he’d felt the disturbance. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul pulled from Jango’s hand and bolted for the forest, ignoring the shouts that came from behind him. Viscus yelled and Jango tried to grab his poncho, but Maul was too far gone. The Force twisted around him and filled his body, making him faster, and stronger. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>More, more, more. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shot through the trees. Now that he was closer he could find Savage in the woods. His Force signature was so much smaller, and so much less Dark and dense than Maul knew it to be. It was like it had been at the very end of his life, unadjusted by the Nightsisters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul heard a child cry and sped up. Something had changed. They had not taken Savage until he was already grown before, what was different now?! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He shot out of the woods. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Two Nightsisters stood before his two brothers. Savage stood protectively in front of a Nightbrother half his size, his teeth bared and his eyes huge and terrified. Fear and anger radiated off of him while the child cowering behind him cried and clutching his cheek. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>One of the Nightsisters had a hand on the other’s raised wrist, her face twisted in a grimace, but Maul had seen everything he needed. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He launched himself off the ground and caught the second Nightsister around the throat. With one hand behind her head he reached around, grabbed her jaw, and twisted her neck until it snapped cleanly. The first Nightsister leapt away from them, drawing a weapon from her hip, while Maul landed in front of his two brothers defensively. Savage was a good head taller than he but that did nothing to stop him from placing himself between his young brother and the threats. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Nightsister froze. His hood was still down, revealing his small horns and his tattooed skin. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Maul... “ she breathed, her eyes growing wide. Maul tensed. She knew him? Did she work for Sidious? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mother,” Savage hissed from behind Maul. “You know him?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Mother?” Maul repeated, daring to look back over his shoulder at Savage. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The trees shifted and Jango and Kenobi came stumbling out of their branches just in time for the woman to drop to one knee in front of Maul, holding her hands up to show she meant no harm. Maul twitched away from them. He didn’t trust her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Her smile was crooked and familiar. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I had thought to never see you again,” she said quietly. Her gaze darted to the two humans before they returned to Maul, her smile growing wide. “Not that I am adverse to it. You were a unique child. Not many Nightbrother’s are your shade. It was an omen, a blessing from the Fanged God himself. If Mother Talzin had known about you, you would have been her personal slave, a warrior meant only to serve her. I couldln’t allow it. Is Sidious no longer your guardian?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>His guardian? Maul eyed her wearily. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...No. I have left him now.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see. You have attracted interesting company. It is good to see you well. I knew I couldn't’ do anything for Savage, Talzin already knew about him, but when I found myself with child again, just after your sire died, I knew I couldn’t subject a second son to the life of a Nightbrother,” her voice was soft and the Force sang with her truth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul never looked away from her. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I kept you a secret, and when you were born I waited until an Offoworlder came. Sidious. He was strong with the Force, as you were even as a babe. I begged him to take you away, to give you a life you deserved. One that you would never have on Dathomir. Would that I could I would have done the same with all my son’s but… to fool Talzin even once is a great stroke of chance. I could not repeat it for Feral,” she sounded genuinely sad. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul struggled to put together what she was saying but- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was true. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Force whispered that it was true, that this woman shared his blood. He could see it, if he squinted. Her crooked smile matched his. The shape of her eyes was just as Savage’s, even if they had the Zabrak look of Nightbrothers and she the humanesque look of Nightsisters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You are… my mother.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kycina.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Kycina,” he tasted the name curiously.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kycina watched them with shadowed, pale eyes.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He glanced back at his brothers. Savage clutched Feral to his hip protectively. He eyed the woman warily, but it was not true fear. She was not the one who had struck the youngest Oppress. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul had thought that Talzin was his mother. She certainly spoke like she was. Yet, the Force resonated with the truth. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>This was his mother. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had given him to Sidious. She had- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had tried to </span>
  <em>
    <span>save him </span>
  </em>
  <span>of all things. A near hysterical laugh clawed at the back of his throat. She wanted to bring him salvation from slavery, but she had sold him to a fate on par with the Nightbrothers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Well. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul eyed the twisted neck of the nightsister he had killed dispassionately. The one taking the boys away to be reared to be bred and bled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Perhaps not quite on par. He had never been expected to breed and then die under Sidious’ care. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am taking the other two,” he said firmly. “You cannot stop me.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I would not try,” her voice softened. Around Maul, his vornskr prowled restlessly. The Force was so strong on this planet it had their short fur standing on edge. She approached, slowly. Maul put himself between her and his brothers but did not draw his weapon, even when she pulled out a short, serrated blade. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I felt I should carry it with me,” she said with a despairing twist of her mouth. “Your brother’s each have their own. It’s meant to be given to a Nightbrother after their first hunt by the clan leader. I had yours made in secret, in case… Well. It is yours.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul picked it up carefully. It felt wrong in his hands. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He still turned it carefully over and over. He could recognize some of the markings engraved in the hilt. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Come with us,” Jango said quietly, his voice muffled by the helmet. He’d come closer while they talked. “We can help you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I cannot. This is my home. I am bound to Dathomir, to live and die on her soil,” Kycina unclasped her arm guard to show a carefully carved tattoo of the darkest green. “I cannot leave her. I am a Guardian, bound to my home.” Maul could feel thick threads of power sealing Kycina to the ground. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Talzin will know what happened,” he said slowly, “When she finds you, you will be punished terribly.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kycina inclined her head. “I know.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Cold certainty coiled in his small chest. Maul peered over his shoulder at the other’s. His brothers and his- his whatever. He locked eyes with Kenobi and Jango. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You should take them back to the ship,” he said quietly. “I’ll be along soon.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango touched Kenobi’s shoulder and nodded towards the path they had taken to get there. Kenobi hesitated, but gently guided the other Nightbrothers away. Jango hesitated a moment longer before he went after them. Good. A look at Kycina showed her watching him with sharp, pale eyes. She seemed to know where this was going. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Just as Maul did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You showed me a mercy,” however it might have failed. “I will do the same for you.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul shoved the blade into her chest. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Kycina touched his shoulders. Her smile was strained. “You have become strong, Maul. You have found your freedom.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“My chains are broken,” he recited quietly. He tilted the blade up and punched it through her heart. Kycina gasped faintly, and fell limp. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul lay her on the forest floor. He felt like he should do something. Bury her. Honor her, for what she’d tried to do, but it was not to be. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>If he did it would take too much time and give Talzin too much to go on, should she try to pursue them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul cleaned the blade carefully and tucked it inside his cloak before he made his way back to the ship. His mother lay dead in the forests of Dathomir, and his family waited for him on a borrowed Mandalorian ship. </span>
</p><p> </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>If anyone missed it, I’ve added a new story to the series called ‘Let the Chips Fall’ the centers around the rest of the galaxy reacting to Maul, starting with Depa in a very interesting Council meeting. Take a look if you’re so inclined :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0015"><h2>15. Sons Shine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Eldra Kaitis had heard stories about Mandalorians. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Every Jedi had, even those who were still in the creche had heard a scary story or two about the Mandalorians and what they did during the Mandalorian - Jedi war. They put jedi in coffins still living, and cut off their connection to the Force. They buried them in their beskar mine, where no Force could slip through the cracks and reach them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a Jedi, it was a fate far worse than dead. And that wasn’t even counting their terrible flame throwers the burned Jedi living, or the way they descended from the sky with their jetpacks like flocks of terrible birds, and carried away unsuspecting younglings. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eldra, like most younglings, had been terrified of them for a time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was a youngling no longer.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eldra was a Padawan now, under Master Finn Ertay, and she could not cower behind her master when the Mandalorians, in their terrible armor, came to them in the market place on Lothal. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eldra tried to square her shoulders and make herself look bigger than her twelve years, but it was hard when she hadn’t had her growth spurt yet. She barely came up to Master Ertay’s elbow, and her soresu needed work and the Mandalorian had a blaster and- </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Master Ertay touched her shoulder and sent a wave of calm through her. Eldra bowed her head. She was always a little more quick to worry than her age-mates, and a little faster to anger. She wasn’t as bad as Bruck Chun and Obi Wan Kenobi from Heliost Clan, who got in real fights sometimes. Eldra was a Bergruutfa before Master Ertay chose her as her padawan, nearly a year ago now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Now the elder twi’lek kept herself between her Padawan and the approaching Mandalorian. Her lekku twitched subtly, a language only female twi’leks understood. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>Don’t panic. </span>
  </em>
  <span>It said clearly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eldra tried to obey. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She touched her padawan braid, tracing the smooth beed at the bottom. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorians stopped in front of them. They seemed so big up close, their armor shining in the sunlight. One of them was painted pale grey with stripes of orange along the arms and legs. The other one, a woman, was in silver and yellow, with little diamonds down the cheeks under both sides of her visor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was the one who held her hands up, placating. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Forgive us,” she said in heavily accented basic. “We did not see the child.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eldra bristled. She wasn’t a child! She was a Padawan Learner, half a Jedi herself! And she was almost thirteen! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Master Ertay’s lekky twitched again. Eldra bit her tongue, her blue cheeks flushing faintly purple. She was a Padawan. So she shouldn’t be so proud that she got ruffled like that. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I am not sure what I am forgiving you for,” Master Ertay tilted her head, sending one long green lek spilling across her shoulder. The other Mandalorian, a big man, tilted his visor towards her before it went to one of the nearby stalls. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We were looking for a Jedi without a daughter or son,” the lady said. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eldra startled. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Master Ertay looked confused. “A Padawan?” she clarified. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The Mandalorian woman nodded. “Yes. Padawan. Your children.”  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They weren’t… wrong, necessarily. Padawan’s were children of the Force, and the future of the Jedi, but they weren’t son’s or daughters like most beings meant. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What does my Padawan have to do with your business with me?” Master Ertay finally asked, shaking her head faintly, making her lekku wave. The little diamonds at the bottom of each one were a green so dark they were almost black. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We look for a jedi without one,” the woman explained. “Have you seen any?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Eldra looked to her master, who seemed just as confused. “I’m sure there are several, though we are the only Jedi on Lothal currently.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The big man’s shoulders fell. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I see,” said the woman. “Then we thank you. Goodbye.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She gave a very strange knock off of a Jedi bow and the two left before either twi’lek could ask further questions.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fy-Tor-Ana was a Jedi Master. She was used to strange things happening, and she was used to fighting as well. As the Master in charge of training Initiates in the Art of Movement, and overseeing their progress in balance and agility. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was those same initiates that she was here on behalf of, gathering new materials for their obstacle course. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She doubted they would appreciate the new firewheel she was adding to it, but in the end they would be stronger for it. She hadn’t been intending on getting the cage of colorful birds too, but they’d caught her eye and given her a burst of inspiration. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fy-Tor-Ana wasn’t expecting to run into a Mandalorian. She definitely wasn’t expecting him to try to get her to come to his ship with him. The crooked sword he’d pulled had been interesting, and it blocked her lightsaber. The armor meant that if she punched him it would hurt, but it also meant that he wasn’t as flexible as her, so Fy-Tor-Ana  resorted to quick grappling and using his weight against him.</span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The end result was Fy-Tor-Ana sitting lightly on his chest while he stared at up at her through his visor. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So,” she said slowly, looking down at him. “Why did you want me in your ship?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Do you have a kid?” he asked instead, throwing her for a proper loop. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Uh. Hah?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“A kid. A Padawan. Do you have one? Do you want one?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“... I teach the Art of Movement at the temple. So if you want to get specific I have about eighty students or more. Ones that I need to get back to now. I was picking up supplies for our next lesson.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Ah,” he seemed to deflate. “The Art of Movement, what is that?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Fy-Tor-Ana considered not telling him. Why would she? But there really wasn’t any harm to it. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“The Art of Movement is training that Jedi undergo to increase flexibility, agility, and speed. It’s abit like dancing through an obstacle course.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Is that how you did that twisting thing with my arm?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“It is,” she looked amused. “Any other questions?”</span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. Are you </span>
  <em>
    <span>sure </span>
  </em>
  <span>you don’t wanna come back to my ship? Jedi aren’t like, celibate right?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Heat flushed under Fy-Tor-Ana’s cheeks. She gaped at him, stunned. He couldn't be serious! </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Except he was. He even pulled his helmet off to shoot her a crooked smile, one twisted by a scar that shot from the corner of his mouth to his right ear, where it disappeared into messy red hair. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“If you’re interested. I’m Amon.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She picked herself off of him slowly. He was taller than she by a good half a head, and with the helmet gone she could feel nothing but sincerity from him. And uh, something a bit more interesting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m Fy-Tor-Ana,” she said at last. “And I suppose the younglings won’t miss me if I’m a little late.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He absolutely beamed at her and bounced to his feet, picking up the discarded sword and turned to her with good cheer. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“This way then, Master Fy-Tor-Ana.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You can call me Ana, since we’ll get to know eachother better.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She needed to know more about why he was asking about students. And she would certainly be telling the council when she returned to Coruscant, but a few hours delay wouldn’t hurt anything. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>There was a wildness in Komari Vosa that Qui Gon found disconcerting. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was brilliant with a lightsaber, still only a Padawan she was on even footing with most Masters. She was agile, quick, and clever, and each move she made counted. Qui Gon could see their Master in every inch of her swordplay. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She was also quick to anger, and far too attached to Master Dooku. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It had been something that could have been overlooked before. A little crush on ones Master wasn’t unheard of, and it would have been gently dissuaded in time. This was more than puppy love though. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She had hardly left his bedside since he’d been brought back from Galidraan, having taken the most damage out of all of the task force. Master Che had put him in a small medical coma while he healed, not damaged enough for a tank but in rough enough shape to be unconscious for weeks after the incident. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui Gon was not there when he woke up, nor did he visit them while he was unconscious. His Master would be fine, the Force assured him, even if his Sister-Padawan didn’t have as much faith. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So it was a surprise when Qui Gon found Dooku and Komari on their way to the Temple hanger bay, both of them carrying the small packs that signalled an extended mission was on its way. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Master,” Qui Gon offered a smile at him and a shallow bow, one that both of them returned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Qui Gon. Hello,” Dooku looked him over. “It is good to see you in the temple.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes,” he agreed with some reluctance. He didn’t particularly enjoy his ‘grounding’ from the Council. They hadn’t put it in quite so many words, but that was what it was. A grounding, from missions or even study outside the temple anymore. It was irritating. Not that he got irritated. He was a Jedi, after all, and the Force guided him. As soon as he could convince the Mind Healers to clear him.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was, perhaps not fine, he was grieving, but they couldn't help him with that. What he needed to do was get back into the field and find Initiate Kenobi so he could bring him home. The Force wanted the boy to be a Jedi, he could see that clearly without the dark child in clouding it around him anymore. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>The child was a threat that needed to be addressed, one that the Council had said nothing about. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You were going somewhere?” he asked lightly. “Have they sent you on a mission so soon?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Komari shook her head while Dooku merely inclined his head towards him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“One of our own volition. Galidraan was a trap. We intend to uncover more about what happened there.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There were other missions with faulty information,” Komari added, though the despairing look Dooku shot her implied that she wasn’t supposed to say as much. It was curious though. He hadn’t heard much about an uptick in missions gone bad. Perhaps he should have spoken more with Tahl, but she was preparing for an upcoming mission herself, a diplomatic one, and she had been in the library for the last week entirely researching a civil war that had gone on for entire generations. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We are double checking our sources,” Dooku said firmly. “Galidraan was not the only incident, this is true. Your own trip to Bandomeer was much the same.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was all Qui Gon could do not to wince. He tried to keep his expression serene. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps. It revealed the dark child to me, and put me in the path of a peculiar Mandalorian. It was the will of the Force.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Dooku’s mouth thinned. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Perhaps,” he parroted. “We must be off. Komari, time is of the essence. Let us go.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Yes!” She said, her blue eyes bright. She bowed quickly to Qui Gon. “Farewell, Master!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Safe travels, Padawan,” he nodded to her. As she went scampering after their Master, he tried to figure out why in the world she was still allowed to be his Padawan. Her conduct was unacceptable. She was possessed with emotion and attachment, and she was dangerously aggressive no matter her talent. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>She should have been expelled by now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Qui Gon let them go. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was not his choice. They would see in time. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was a creature of darkness. He was a being made of death and destruction. The shadows were his home. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So he was not a fan, at all, of the sunlight that warmed his skin and glared at him from on top of the white snow that greeted them on Concord Dawn. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Behind him Savage muffled a gasp, and Feral cried out in delight. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul pulled his hood tighter over his head while the rest of their too-big pack tumbled out into the snow after Jango. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He, Kenobi, Savage, and Feral followed him in a line, each carrying one creature. Ahsoka was still Maul’s, with her bent tail and torn ear, but Ezra had taken a liking to Savage and Ben had attached himself completely to Feral. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul tried not to be jealous. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They approached a military camp. Mandalorian moved quickly around it, pitching temporary tents and setting up more sturdy buildings. Everything was set to a very detailed plan that Maul couldn’t see yet, but it seemed like a grid. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul was well aware of the fact that every single Mandalorian turned to look at them as they walked past. Maul didn’t exactly blame them, being that it wasn’t every day that one Mandalorian came back after an extended trip with four younglings and just as many animals at his heels. Or he didn’t think so. It certainly hadn’t happened at the Death Watch. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Of course, Death Watch hadn’t had any children running around their facilities at all. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul peered around at them as they went. There was a mess tent already set up, where Mandalorians were cooking something that smelled spicy enough to burn. There was a medical tent, where someone was cussing loudly while their bones were set into place and an Armorer present at a corner, looking over someone’s vambrace. What Maul knew about Mandalorian indicated that few commanded as much respect as a proper Armorer, who knew the long guarded secrets of refining beskar properly. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>All of them were very interested in their group. How much had Jango told them of what ha transpired after he picked him up? Did they know about the pirates? The miners? Xanatos? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Did they know about the future that Maul ‘saw’? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They came to a halt in front a tent that had already been pitched and Jango let them inside. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They weren’t the only ones there. There were two other  Mandalorians waiting for them inside, two human men. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>When they caught sight of them they grinned hugely. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There he is!” One of them laughed, and slapped Jango hard on the shoulder while grasping his forearm. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We were starting to think you’d finally gotten sick of us,” the other added, repeating the gesture. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Not yet. As much fun as it was being a simple man just making his way through the galaxy, I figured I better come back. Silas, Myles, these are the boys I was telling you about.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango turned to show them the four young Force Sensitives. Three Zabrak and one human looked back them, with varying levels of wariness. The most Maul feared from them at this point was having his brothers forcibly adopted by other Mandalorians, but he wasn’t all that worried about that even. Jango had made his intentions clear, and Maul’s choice in the matter was just as obvious. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” Kenobi said with a polite little bow. He was certainly the most nervous. He kept looking like he was waiting for someone to pick a fight with him. What did they teach him at the Jedi Temple that he thought Mandalorians would fight a child? </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Silas looked delighted. “Aw, hello little one. Welcome to Haat’ade’s temporary base. We’re glad to have you here. And I am glad to be getting my ship back,” he shot Jango a pointed look. Jango elbowed him in the shoulder for his trouble, for all the good that did. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Hello,” Kenobi said again, offering him a shy smile. Silas positively beamed at him. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul rolled his eyes privately. If he didn’t know any better (and how disgusting was it that he did?) he might think that Kenobi was doing it on purpose; trying to get on the good side of these Mandalorians. Unfortunately, he knew all to well that Kenobi wasn’t that cunning, or that good of an actor. He really was that polite, and an adorable human child. Even Maul could recognize that. Time in the sun, away from the Temple, meant that he had a generous smattering of boyish freckles now. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“So you’re the little jetii’ad?” Myles asked, looking him over. “I wouldn’t have guessed. You don’t look like a magic wizard of a warrior.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“I’m not?” Kenobi looked bewildered. “I’m a jedi. We aren’t warriors.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Mandalorians and Nightbrothers stared at him like he’d grown a second head. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” He crossed his arms and hunched his shoulders. “We aren’t!” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He really thought that too. How very weird. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“...Alright,” Myles finally shrugged, apparently not willing to fight a boy over whether or not he a was a priest or a fighter. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Anyways,” Jango drew their attention back to himself. It happened as easy as breathing. Maul hadn’t noticed it before, but Jango wore commande like he wore his cape. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s other things we need to take care of. I need a list of supplies, requisition forms from clans, and I need to know what the latest drama is, and any movement from the Kyr’tsad we’ve been tracking.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“Right,” Myles nodded once to him. Jango turned to the boys. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There’s more, too,” he came before them and knelt, his focus on the Opress brothers. “Maul. I made that offer some time ago. I know you will have a conclusion now. It still extends to your brothers. What will it be? Will you let me adopt you, and welcome you into Clan Fett?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul considered Jango carefully. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He had been thinking about it, tactically and personally, for a long time now. When they’d finally picked up his brothers he had talked with them about the possibility as well. None of them knew their father, for he was long dead, and Kycina was the only parent they’d ever had. For Nightbrother’s it wasn’t the mother or the father that mattered. It was the brothers born from them. They were raised communally, by the entire village, under the leadership of Brother Victus. He was a powerful warrior, and was kept alive by the will of Mother Talzin, who wanted him for more than just his breeding capabilities. He was left to teach the next generation and raise the young into warriors to be proud of. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>He was as close to a father as any in the village knew, and he was the eldest brothers. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>So it wasn’t as if Jango was offering to replace someone they’d never known, or fill a void that didn’t exist. No such think existed in any of the three of them. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>They’d talked about it, when they were done discussing the fact that they were now truly free from the Nightsisters. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stood before the other two, his shoulders set with certainty. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“We have decided. We will accept your offer.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Jango positively grinned, his brown eyes gone soft with a fondness that made Maul ache and chaff at the same time. He placed both hands on Maul’s shoulders and the hood knocked back, baring him for all to see.  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“</span>
  <em>
    <span>Ni kyr'tayl gai sa'ad</span>
  </em>
  <span>, Maul, Savage, and Feral.” The Force swirled around them with the words, twisting and drawing a piece of Maul he hadn’t even known existed from somewhere deep in his chest. It wasn’t Dark, or Light, it simply </span>
  <em>
    <span>was </span>
  </em>
  <span>a new absolute truth to the universe. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>It was enough to make Maul sway, until his forehead touched Jango’s chest plate. Even through the beskar he could feel the waves of warm affection that rolled out from him towards the boys. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>A gloved hand touched the back of his head, rubbing gently between his horns. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“There. It’s done. You’re my son’s now, in law and in spirit.” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“And now the Haat’ade have three Alor’ad to look after,” Silas added, amused. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>For a second Maul thought he meant a captain, or a second in command, or something similar, before something else dawned on him. He jerked his head around to Silas, who in turn looked to Jango, who didn’t look nearly as chagrined as he should have. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“You didn’t tell the kids who you were?” </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>“What?” Jango asked, “The Mand’alor?  </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <span>Maul stared up at Jango, his mouth hanging open. </span>
</p><p> </p><p>
  <em>
    <span>“What do you mean you’re the Mand’alor?!</span>
  </em>
  <span>” </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Well, that's the end of the first one! I rewrote this chapter like four times before I finally gave up, and this is what you have. I wanted to make it more eloquent and dramatic for the last chapter in the fic, but I really couldn't find a better way to get everything I wanted into it? </p><p>This fic has veered so far off the tracks it's not even a train anymore, someone send help.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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